Clod on the Run
by lightyearpig
Summary: The Guardians of the Galaxy are hired by Yellow Diamond to hunt down Peridot and they meet Steven & the Crystal Gems. UPDATE: Format overhauled. I do not own either properties presented in this story.
1. Mrs Blue Di

**Clod on the Run**

 **Chapter 1: Mrs. Blue Di**

 **(The author doesn't own either property in this story. Don't forget to read & review and let's get moving!)**

* * *

"So you have some kind of history with these rocks?"

A group of five individuals were being escorted through a hallway by two hulking purple females. The first of these was a human man dressed like he's a space cowboy. This was Peter Quill aka Star-Lord. Along with him was a green-skinned woman named Gamora, the most dangerous woman in the galaxy, another male who's body was covered in tattoos called Drax the Destroyer, the raccoon-like mercenary Rocket and his giant tree accomplice Groot. Together, they formed the Guardians of the Galaxy. Their spaceship the Milano had crash-landed on a space station when they were found by the guards.

"Well you see," Rocket said sweating. "The Collector wanted me to find a couple of Rose Quartz gems for his museum so I took some from this spaceport which these people call a human zoo."

Drax, not understanding some things as always, was confused. "Didn't Peter say that zoos are where humans look at animals, not BE animals?" he asked. "No no no Drax, yeh got it all wrong." The furry bounty hunter corrected. "This zoo is where humans are kept to 'preserve the legacy of Earth' or some krutacking garbage like that."

As the five were led to a door guarded by a blue woman wearing white boots and her hair in buns, Groot looked over his buddy. "I am Groot?" he asked.

"What, I'm not sweating in fear guys!" Rocket claimed, trying to lie about the situation. "It's just that these Gems were after my furry little head and want nothing more than the extermination of all organic life forms!" The furball got more sweaty as he fell to the floor.

"Groot's right Rocket, you seem pretty afraid of them." Gamora said, kneeling down to Rocket's eye level. "I am Groot." the tree agreed.

"Hey guys, is it me or does Smurfette here look like that lady from The Music Man?" Star-Lord asked pointing to the guard. "Let me see, what was her name again?" he started wondering to himself, pacing around in a circle. The guard started getting tired of the man's talking. "Oh I know now, Marian the Librarian!" he finally realized but just then, he was grabbed by the two purple giants.

"I've had enough of this one. Amethysts, take him to the human zoo!" the blue Gem finally said. "Yes Holly Blue Agate!" the Amethysts replied saluting her.

"Hold it right there Holly!" Rocket stated, getting up and dusting himself off. "The human's with us."

The Amethysts put Peter down as Holly Blue Agate glared at Rocket. "Oh goody, you again." she grumbled. "Right this way now." As she took over leading the Guardians, she turned towards the Amethysts and said "Now get back to your post."

* * *

The Guardians were led into a large pink room by Holly Blue Agate filled with Rose Quartz gems in bubbles. At the center of the room was a large blue figure with white hair and a blue cloak examining the bubbles. By the giant's side was a petite lass with a pointy nose and blue hair covering her eyes.

"Who's the titan there?" Drax asked pointing to the giant woman. "That's Blue Diamond, pretty much the only one of these weirdos that I can respect because she doesn't want me dead." Rocket answered. "And the little one is her Pearl." he added.

"My Diamond, we have visitors." Holly Blue Agate addressed her superior. "Including that mangy cur." Rocket was angered by her snide comment and pointed a blaster at her. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Just as he was about to shoot, Blue Diamond stopped him.

"Please put your weapon down Rocket." she quietly ordered. The raccoon could only groan as he put it away.

"So, you must be Blue Diamond." Peter said trying to look tough.

"Yes, and you are human?" she asked. "My name," the human replied. "Is Star-Lord." Complete silence filled the room before Blue Pearl broke it. "Who?" Star-Lord got exasperated about how there are still people who don't know his name.

"Star-Lord man! Legendary outlaw, leader of a lovable group of misfits?" He face-palmed as another figure entered the room. She looked a lot like Blue Diamond, except she was yellow, had more angular eyes and hair points. Like her fellow diamond, she also had a Pearl.

"I see that dreadful Rocket and his guardians have come to visit." The yellow one said with a bit of a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Aw come on, I'm the leader here!" Star-Lord shouted. "And it seems the human zoo forgot one." her Pearl added with a smug grin.

"That one is Yellow Diamond, pretty much the second in command of the Great Diamond Authority." Rocket said to Gamora pointing to Yellow Diamond.

"So if there are three Diamonds leading the Gems and the symbol has four, what happened to the fourth one?" The green warrior asked. "It's a long story, but let's say she's the reason all these bubbles are here."

"So anyway," Yellow Diamond began as she set her Pearl down. "We've heard that you've been offering your services for good prices lately."

Rocket's ears began to perk up. "Why yes we have!" he said excitedly. If there's anything Rocket loved as much as Groot, weapons and flying, it was money.

"So what'll it be?" Peter asked. "Search and rescue, protect something precious to your people?" Rocket started to rub his hands greedily as Groot put on a worried expression.

"How about capture?" Yellow Diamond said. "Who would you want us to capture?" Drax asked. "Pearl," Yellow Diamond ordered. "Bring up the wanted list."

"Yes my Diamond." Yellow Pearl immediately obliged as she brought up a hologram of various wanted criminals and started scrolling through them. Among them were a human-like Gem about Drax's height with thick pink hair & a white dress with a star-shaped hole exposing her gem, a smaller Gem with green skin, triangular hair & a green gem on her forehead and an angry Rocket with his middle finger censored.

"Ah, that's the one." Yellow Pearl finally said. She picked out the second poster and handed it to Rocket. "Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut 5XG." he read aloud.

"Why do you want us to capture this one" Drax asked looking over the critter's shoulder. "It is too small and innocent to be a threat."

"Why it's simple really." Yellow Diamond said, getting angrier as she spoke. "She flat out betrayed me, refused to give me information on the Cluster AND CALLED ME A CLOD!" All the Guardians quivered in fear of the yellow giant until her blue comrade was able to calm her down."Temper Yellow, temper." she said as she put her hands on her sister's shoulders. Yellow was able to calm down before turning to the Guardians.

"So how many units are we talkin' here?" Rocket asked handing the hologram back to Yellow Pearl. "1,969, 2,008?"

"How about 5,000?" Yellow Diamond said. Rocket was immediately awestruck by the price. "It's a deal!" he exclaimed. "C'mon gang, we gotta midget to catch!" As he marched towards the door, he noticed someone was missing. "Hey anyone seen Quill?" The other Guardians pointed towards their leader dancing to music on his Walkman with Blue Pearl watching.

"So what did you say this music was called?" The Gem asked. "It's called I Want You Back by the Jackson 5." Peter answered. "Want a listen?" Just then, Rocket started tugging his leg like a little child. "C'mon Pete, we got a midget to catch. The raccoon said. "Well looks like we gotta go." Peter said to Blue Pearl as he turned towards the two Diamonds. "Thanks for having us over girls!"

"Likewise human." Yellow Diamond groaned. "And by the way, you'll find your vessel repaired." Holly Blue Agate began to lead the Guardians back to the port when Star-Lord turned towards Blue Pearl and said "Call me."

* * *

"Alright gang. Riches beyond our wildest dreams here we come!" Rocket shouted as they boarded the Milano. As estatic as he was, the rest of the team were a bit unsure.

"I don't know Rocket." Gamora said. "You told us about how the Diamonds can make enemies rather quickly and it clearly shows when Yellow Diamond got angry talking about that Peridot." Groot agreed with her. "I am Groot."

"So what if we might die if we fail? At least we're still going on another crazy adventure!" Rocket exclaimed.

"Okay, I've been looking through the information Holly Blue Agate gave us and it said our target is currently on Earth." Star-Lord stated. "A new job where we go back to my old stomping grounds? Neat!"

"Since when was stomping on the ground involved?" Drax asked.

"It's a way of saying familiar territory Drax." the human corrected. "Now then, Earth here we come!" And so, the Guardians blasted off towards Earth where their reward would be waiting.


	2. Suffragette Beach City

**Clod on the Run**

 **Chapter 2: Suffragette Beach City**

* * *

The Guardians of the Galaxy were zooming through the galaxy for their newest job. They were hired by Yellow and Blue Diamond of the Gem Homeworld to hunt down a traitorous Peridot on Earth. Star-Lord was flying their ship while jamming out to Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) by Looking Glass, Rocket was preparing his surplus of weapons for an eventual battle, Drax was giving Groot a trim and Gamora was just sitting quietly. "Hey G, what's up?" Star-Lord said turning around to his emerald crewmate. "You've been pretty quiet lately since we met the Diamonds, but I guess that's pretty normal for you."

Gamora could only groan as she finally spoke. "Do you really want to know guys?" All of the others were curious. "Come on Gamora, we are your friends." Drax said. "I am Groot." Groot added. "Yeah, what they said!" Star-Lord replied. "Alright, you got me." Gamora stated. "I've actually met one of the Diamonds." The gang could believe what they just heard. "It was before I met all of you, when I was one of Thanos' minions."

* * *

"Lord Thanos, we are approaching Earth as we speak." a grey-skinned alien in a black cloak announced to his master. He was Corvus Glaive, member of the Black Order and right hand man of Thanos the Mad Titan. The titan in question was a muscular, intimidating purple alien clad in blue and gold clothing.

"Very good Corvus." the overlord thanked his minion. "I wish to speak with the Diamond controlling this planet and see if the Authority is willing to ally with me."

"Thanos came to Earth seeking to gain the Gem Homeworld's trust, but we all know he would've betrayed them." Gamora narrated. By the Mad Titan's side were three humanoid alien warriors. One was Gamora herself while the other two were a blue-skinned woman with prominent cybernetics and a dark-skinned man with piercing blue eyes. They were Nebula and Korath, Gamora's two adopted siblings.

"I want you three on guard in case anyone gets suspicious. In that case, attack and kill anyone who dare try to oppose me." the Dark Lord ordered to his three assassins.

"Yes master." the trio complied. The aliens then touched down on an ancient cloud arena where they came face to face with many Gems of different shapes, sizes, colors and types.

"Do not be alarmed." Nebula announced. "We are here for Pink Diamond."

"Allow me visitors." a Gem stepped forward. She was a tall lanky one with hair twisted into buns and her gemstone on her midsection. "I am Pearl, Pink Diamond's servant." The Pearl extended her hand forward. "I am Thanos of the Titanians. I request an audience with your superior." Thanos introduced himself to Pearl. "Yes sir, right this way."

Pearl led Thanos and his children through a crowd of nervous looking Gems to a large pink palanquin where another Gem clad in pink clothing sat. She was guarded by two other Gems, one with orange skin, white hair & her gemstone for a nose and the other was very humanlike in appearance with pink ringlets.

"Salutations visitor." The larger Gem said from her palanquin. "Who are you and what brings you here?"

"Greetings Pink Diamond, I am Thanos of Titan." Thanos greeted Pink Diamond as he stepped forward, bowing while his minions kneeled. "I have come to your planet wishing to form an alliance with the Great Diamond Authority." Pink Diamond rose from her palanquin as her two guard followed behind. "Please state your reasoning." the Diamond spoke.

"You see, I have been hunting for six ingots of awesome power known as the Infinity Stones." Thanos explained as he brought up a hologram of the artifacts in question. The Stones were of multiple colors ranging from blue, yellow, red, purple, green and orange. "These stones represent a different part of the universe and when brought together with the Infinity Gauntlet, would grant the user godlike abilities."

All of the Gems present were intrigued by the visitor's proposition, except for the orange guard.

"I don't like this." she said." "You'll probably just betray and shatter us all!" She tried to attack Thanos but was stopped by her companion.

"Jasper, please don't provoke him!" she cried. "No Rose, we have to protect Pink Diamond!"

"Silence orange fool," Thanos ordered Jasper. "Your attitude is like a pouty child! Now remain silent or I will have to end you." Gamora, Nebula, Korath and Corvus pointed their weapons as she shouted "ATTACK!"

The Gems within the arena followed her orders and summoned their weapons. "Very well." Thanos answered as he snapped his fingers, summoning his army of Chitauri, Sakaarans & Deviants and unleashed them on the arena. The battle was long and hard, with many Gems poofed or shattered during the conflict. Eventually Thanos won after he poofed both Rose Quartz and Jasper.

"I am appalled at such disrespect coming from a servants of the Diamonds!" Thanos boomed in disgust as he handed the gemstones to Pearl. "Forget the alliance, I will find the Stones myself." He motioned his assassins to follow him as he departed the arena. "Mark my words Pink Diamond, when I gain ultimate power you will be the first to fall."

* * *

"Later on, we received news that Pink Diamond was shattered by one of her own Rose Quartz but Thanos took it as a sign of surrender and remains enemies with Homeworld to this day."

Gamora finished her story as the Guardians sat there completely stunned. "Jesus." Peter said.

"Hey Quill, did you turn on autopilot?" Rocket asked. "I don't know, I thought you did." That's when they all realized they were going to crash. "What did you do you idiot?!" Rocket exclaimed as the ship fell downward, catching on fire in the process. "I don't know, I just got distracted by Gamora's story!"

"Don't even think about using that excuse!" Rocket shouted back.

"My friends, it has been an honor adventuring alongside you." Drax proclaimed. "If I die here, then I will die with all of you by my side!" He then pulled Rocket and Gamora close, hugging them incredibly tightly much to their chagrin. "Let go of me you moron!" Rocket exclaimed as he tried to wriggle out of the destroyer's grasp. "Let my muscles be your shield!"

As the Milano dived closer to the ground, Peter took the wheel and tried to steer them away from their grisly fate, but it was too late.

* * *

The Milano was reduced to a pile of scrap metal when it crashed, but luckily nobody died. Peter was the first to awaken.

"Oh geez what a fall." He groaned getting up. "Anyone okay? Raise your hand if your head is still attached." Groot excitedly raised his hand. "I am Groot!" he cheered as he got up. "Yeah, we're still conscious Quill." Rocket said as he popped out of Drax's tight hug. "Looks like Drax's abs did save us after all."

"Yes, my abs are heroes!" Drax shouted as he released Gamora from his grasp. "You know, we could've survived crashing if Peter turned on the autopilot beforehand!" Gamora shouted.

"Hey, don't go blamin' me here G!" Peter said trying to avoid getting in trouble. "Rocket was the one who did it!" Rocket got angry at Quill trying to place the blame on him and pulled out a rocket launcher. "So I'm to blame for your idiocy?" Rocket barked. "Y'know what, screw Peridot! We're taking you back to the Diamonds so you can get jammed into the human zoo when we get the ship fixed!"

Star-Lord then pulled out his laser pistol in retaliation. "Not if I bring you in first!" The two aimed their weapons at each other when Groot tried to break up the fight.

"I am Groot, I am Groot!" The tree exclaimed as he pushed the two away from one another. Rocket sighed. "Groot's right, kickin' each others asses wouldn't help us get rich." He then put away his rocket launcher and tried to apologize. "Sorry for lashing out Pete, I guess we were both the idiots here."

"Apology accepted Rocket." Peter said ruffling his fur. "Now where can we find some new parts for the Milano?" Groot then pointed towards what looked like a barn in the distance. "I am Groot!" he said. "That'll do." Star-Lord said.

The group made their way to the barn, which looked much different from the typical barn. There was a silo jutting out the side, a pickup truck above the entrance with a TV in the back and a small pool near it. "Oy, what a dump." Rocket said looking at it. "I mean, this place looks like a hodgepodge of useless crap!"

Everybody else was quick to agree as they went inside when suddenly they were attacked by several armed drones, but Rocket shot them all down. In the barn, they were met with what seemed to look like art like a broken tape recorded with a bow on it, a simple leaf taped to a rock and a lineup of toilets. "Is anyone here?" Drax asked around.

"Hey guys check it out, it's a bunch of toilets!" Star-Lord called pointing at the toilets, laughing. "Very cheeky Quill, but we need to find a way to search for our target." Rocket said examining the silo that was turned into a makeshift aquarium. There weren't any fish except for a green alien creature with white stuff coming out of a hole in its neck. "Hate to be that guy. Wonder what happened to him."

"Hey everyone, I found a vehicle that can get us somewhere!" Gamora called from outside. The other Guardians rushed outside to find her driving a tractor and not doing so good.

"It may be slow, but it'll do." she said. "I like your idea Gamora, but it's gonna need a few modifications." Rocket stated. "Groot, do we have any spare parts from the Milano that haven't been destroyed in the crash?" Groot immediately saluted and charged towards the wreckage.

"Heh, dis gonna be a cakewalk." the animal smirked as he placed his hands behind his head. "Oh, are we having cake?" Drax asked.

* * *

The Guardians were now on their way to their destination on the tractor, which was now souped up with a turbo engine. They were zooming through the highway, past a pizza-themed car with a few teenagers driving it.

"What'd I tells ya gang, this gonna be a piece of cake!" Rocket exclaimed as the wind rushed through his fur. "You said there was cake, but I don't see anything!" Drax shouted. "I'll explain later Drax, right after we become rich!" Rocket replied.

Suddenly, the engine broke down and the gang were stuck in front of a sign. "I thought the turbo engine was intact when we crashed." Star-Lord said. "But the good news is the sign here must mean something good." The crew got off the tractor and walked around the sign to see that it read 'Welcome to Beach City.'

"Beach City, eh?" Star-Lord said. "Looks like we might have some fun in the sun when we finish our mission." The Guardians then looked forward at the town. It looked pretty standard for a seaside town with a boardwalk and amusement park, but one feature they took notice of was a large hill with a stone hand sticking out the side. "Well guys, let's get cracking."

* * *

The Guardians walked through the streets as they got odd looks from the locals wondering why a cowboy was hanging out with a green girl, a shirtless man, a raccoon and a tree. "You think we look out of place here?" Gamora asked.

"I don't know, maybe it's because we look like a bunch of freaks!" Peter exclaimed. "We might be tracked down by the government or become topics of crazy conspiracy theorists!"

"Yeah, especially people like that one." Rocket added pointing to a small child with an onion-like head staring blankly at them. "What're you lookin' at kid? Scram!" The child continued to stare at them until he turned and ran, dropping a map from his pocket along the way. "Well that was oddly convenient." Rocket said as he picked the map and opened it, revealing several locations circled with red marker.

"Okay, listen up folks." Star-Lord announced looking over the map. "We're gonna comb the town for our target and we won't stop until the job is done. Also from now on we'll be using codenames. You can address me as Eagle One." He then gestured towards Drax. "Drax, codename Been There Done That." Then he moved to Gamora. "Gamora is Currently Doing That." After trying to high-five her and failing, he pointed at Groot. "Groot is It Happened Once in a Dream." Finally he pointed towards Rocket who was crossing his fingers. "Rocket is...Eagle Two."

"Oh thank God." Rocket sighed in relief. "So where do we go from here Quill?" He started pointing at various locations on the map.

"How about this," Star-Lord stated. "Groot goes to the donut shop here." Before he could finish, Groot was already charging to the donut shop. "Guess somebody loves donuts."

"Rocket, you go the amusement park." Rocket got a bit excited, wondering about how much junk he could get from there. "Drax, you search the boardwalk and Gamora & I will search the boardwalk. As the legendary Fred Jones once said, let's split up gang!" They all dispersed as a curly-haired woman wearing glasses and a short black man watching them turned towards each other.

"Say, didn't that cowboy look a bit like Danny from Fields and Relaxation?" the woman asked.

* * *

Groot had already made his way to the big donut when he noticed the large donut sign that read "Big Donut." Walking inside, he met an orange-skinned teenager with a red mohawk-like haircut and rather peculiar earlobes.

"Welcome to the Big Donut, how can I..." the boy began to speak before realizing that he was speaking to a giant tree thing. "I am Groot." Groot said. "Nice to meet you Groot, I'm Lars." the boy, now named Lars greeted nervously. "I am Groot." Groot replied. "I know that, and I am Lars." Lars answered. The exchanges of "I am Groot" and "I am Lars" went on for a while until a short girl around Lars' age came out of the back door.

"Hey Lars, what's up?" the girl asked. "This guy came in and all he can say is 'I am Groot!'" Lars replied. "Here, let me talk to him." The girl walked up to Groot and began to introduce herself. "Hi there uh...Groot, I'm Sadie." she greeted. "I'm pretty sure you already know about Lars here."

Groot extended his hand to Sadie. "I am Groot." he said shaking her hand. "Hey buddy, can you move outta the way?" a voice asked. When Groot turned around, it was an old man with a mustache and sunglasses talking to him. "Yeah I'm talking to ya Deku Tree, you're holdin' up the line!"

"I am Groot, I am Groot." Groot apologized to the man as he began to walk out of the building, but not before taking notice of several paper bags with "Sadie" written on them and taking one. "Hey wait, those aren't for sale!" Sadie called out as Groot exited. "And he's gone."

"What a weirdo." the old man said. "Now where's my nut dog?" he asked. "Coming right up Mr. Lee." Lars said.

* * *

Rocket meanwhile was digging through trash at the Funland Amusement Park. "So this is what these so called 'raccoons' do, just dig through useless garbage?" he asked himself before finding a tin can. "This might be useful." As he lept out of the trash can, he was suddenly hit by a broom.

"Get outta my trash varmint!" the man holding the broom shouted. The man was tall, bald and wore a shirt with various shapes on it. "Who you callin' varmint big boy?" Rocket shouted back.

The man was completely stunned to see a talking raccoon rummaging through his garbage. "Whoa mama!" he shouted. "A talking raccoon?" Rocket was also stunned. "Seriously, the hell's a raccoon?!"

"You see little guy," the man said. "It's what you are. Bushy striped tail, those ears, that mask around your eyes..." Suddenly he was interrupted by the roller coaster beginning to fall apart. "Dang it Onion!" he screamed as he ran towards the ride. "If you hadn't blown up my phone, I would've called your parents by now!"

"Well," Rocket said to himself. "That was weird."

* * *

Drax was searching across the boardwalk in search of Peridot, asking various people. He went to the pizza place, the arcade, the fry place and the beach but nobody saw her anywhere. He was about ready to give up and report to his teammates when he heard a small voice.

"Excuse me, have you seen my dog?" the voice asked. Drax looked down to discover that voice belonged to a small green child with triangular hair looking up at him.

"What did you say?" he asked back. "I said, have you seen my dog?" The child was very persistent when asking him. "What does your dog look like little one?"

"My dog is orange, chubby, has little legs and a green tail." the child answered. "I'm sorry, but I do not know about a creature like that." Drax answered much to her dismay. "But if I do find it, I'll come tell you." The child beamed at Drax as she hugged his leg.

"Thanks mister!" she said as she let go and ran off. Drax smiled back at her, as she reminded him of his late daughter Kamaria.

But that's when he realized the child looked very much like the Gem they were searching for. "Wait a minute."

* * *

Star-Lord and Gamora were walking through the streets of Beach City looking for someone who might know the Peridot they were hunting.

"Are you sure whoever works at this carwash might know about her?" Gamora asked. "I'm pretty sure." Peter replied. "I mean, there's nothing that can distract us now!" Then ironically enough, he got distracted by the white van that had the words "Mr. Universe" on it and was immediately starstruck.

"Are you alright Pete?" his green compatriot inquired. "Of course I'm alright," Peter shouted. "That's the van of Mr. Universe, pretty much one of the greatest musicians on Earth!"

The two walked up to the van to find a beach bum strumming his guitar when he stopped to notice them. "Oh hey, didn't see you there." he said. "It's not often we get visitors that don't want to destroy Earth." While Peter was still in awe, Gamora on the other hand was very confused. "This is the legendary Mr. Universe?" she wondered pointing to him. "He doesn't look like a star."

"I may not look all that cool now, but I'm still a cool guy to be around." the man said getting up and reaching his hand towards Gamora. "Name's Greg Universe." She reluctantly shook it. Greg tried to get Peter to shake his hand but he was too busy fanboying.

"HI MY NAME IS PETER I'M ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FANS I REMEMBER WHEN MY MOM TOOK ME TO ONE OF YOUR CONCERTS IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF MY CHILDHOOD!" he blurted out before fainting.

"I'm sorry about my friend sir." Gamora apologized to Greg. "You see, we came here looking for someone named Peridot. Do you know her?"

"Oh yeah, I do know Peridot." Greg answered. "She's one of Steven's friends who pushed me off a barn roof."

Just then, Peter regained consciousness when hearing about Peridot. "Wait, who's Steven?" he asked. "Steven's my son, a really sweet kid like his mother." Greg replied as he pulled out a picture of him a picture frame of him and a woman with big pink hair who resembled the Gem from Gamora's story. "That's me and her way back when. Her name's Rose Quartz."

Star-Lord got quite curious. "What happened to her?" he asked, which made Greg turn quite dour. "She died giving birth to him." he said. Star-Lord started feeling sorry for him as he already lost his mother when he was a boy. "That's rough buddy." he replied.

"So anyway, we're gonna go now." Gamora interjected grabbing Peter by the shirt collar. "See ya later Greg!" Peter said. "But can you sign my Walkman first?"

Greg was happy to oblige as he pulled out a marker and wrote "To one of my biggest fans, from Mr. Universe" on it. Peter couldn't help but squee as he was dragged away.

* * *

"Anything guys?" Rocket asked as the group reassembled at the shore.

"I am Groot!" Groot said happily as he munched on Sadie's bag. "I met a child looking for her dog who resembled our target quite a bit." Drax said. "Quill fanboyed over some hopeless bum who used to be a rockstar from his childhood." Gamora said as Peter continued to stare at his music player.

"I got beaten up by some guy at the park." Rocket said pawing his face. "Face it, it's all a lost cause. Might as well give u-" Suddenly he was interrupted by a weird feeling in his tail followed by barking. "Alright, who did that?" he demanded.

"Don't look at me, it was Drax!" Star-Lord claimed pointing at Drax. "I do not make noises like that, blame Groot!" Drax added. "I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed pointing at Rocket's tail. There was a small orange creature biting it that looked like a cross between a pumpkin and a puppy.

"That's it!" Drax bellowed pointing at the creature. "That's the girl's dog!"

"Wait a minute, what girl?" Rocket said as the child Drax met earlier rushed to Rocket and grabbed the creature. "Pumpkin, I've been searching all over for you!" she shouted as she hugged it. "Lapis, I found Pumpkin!" The Guardians looked up to see a blue figure flying through the sky with wings made of water. When the figure landed, it was actually a blue Gem wearing a blue halter top & skirt with dark blue triangles on them and her teardrop-shaped gemstone on her back.

"Wait, there's more of them? Star-Lord wondered. "Quiet Quill!" Rocket shushed him.

"Thanks for helping us find Pumpkin." Lapis said to Drax. "Peridot told me you would look for him." Rocket's ears started to perk up again. "You're very welcome miss. I suppose you must be her mother." Lapis started to look a little sheepish. "No, just her friend." She then turned around to Peridot. "C'mon Peri, we're supposed to be visiting Steven today."

As the two walked with Pumpkin away from the Guardians, Rocket jumped up and clung to Drax's chest. "YOU IDIOT!" he screamed in his face. "You had the chance to capture her right then & there and you just let her leave?!"

Star-Lord pulled his furry crewmate away from Drax and set him down on the sand. "Hey, no need to start yelling at Drax." he said. "Besides, we need to follow those two. They said something about visiting someone named Steven."

"Wasn't this Steven supposed to be Greg's child?" Gamora asked. "Yeah, maybe he knows those two." Peter replied as he glanced toward Peridot and Lapis. "Now how can we follow them without getting caught?" Just then, they noticed a pink lion walking out from behind the Big Donut.

"Is that a lion?" he wondered as he and the others watched in confusion. "Why is this animal pink?" Drax asked. "Beats me," Rocket answered. "Let's see if it's friendly."

The group walked to the lion as it started looking at them. They all stared at each other for a bit until the lion started scratching Groot, which made him giggle. "Yep, definitely seems friendly." Star-Lord said. "I wonder how fluffy his mane is?" He reached out to pet it when it tried to bite him. "Whoa!" he shouted as he pulled his hand out of the way. That's when he got an idea.

"I have a plan!" he declared. "Oh God no." Rocket moaned, fearing what he had planned.

"We make Rocket pretend he's roadkill, have the lion bring him to those two and then we break in & attack!" Rocket couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why do I have to be the bait?" he complained as Gamora picked him up. "Why can't we just rip off Groot's arm and pretend it's a tree branch?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to do this job for 5,000 units?" Gamora asked as she stuck her gun-toting chum into the lion's mouth. "Yeah but not like this!" he cried. "Alright, I'll play dead."

"Alright now go to your home." Drax ordered the lion. It obeyed the destroyer's command and raced off, with the Guardians in pursuit.

* * *

"I'm really starting to regret stealing those Quartz gems." Rocket moaned as the lion stopped at a beach house sitting beneath a statue of a giant woman with four pairs of arms.

"Hey Lion, what you got there?" the voice of a boy asked as it walked outside to the lion. From what Rocket could see, the boy was roughly around his height with brown curly hair, a pink T-shirt with a star on it, blue jeans and pink sandals. "Is that a raccoon?"

As Rocket was pulled out of the lion's mouth, he tried his best to play dead. "Is he dead Lion?" The lion quietly shook its head. "I'm not sure either, maybe the Gems can help." The boy rushed Rocket inside the beach house as the other Guardians spied on him.

"That small Earth child is the lion's master?" Drax questioned. "It would've eaten him alive by now!"

"No time for questions Drax." Quill said as he got out of their hiding spot and moved to the beach house. "We've got a job to do."

* * *

The boy went inside the beach house with Rocket in his arms and laid him on a table. "Guys, come quick!" he called and five females ran to his side. Aside from Lapis and Peridot, the first was Garnet, a Gem with shades and a square afro. With her was Amethyst who was short, purple & had long pale lavender hair and Pearl, a thin white Gem with her gemstone on her forehead.

"Steven, why did you bring that animal into the house?" Pearl asked.

"I don't think it's feeling well." Steven claimed.

"Aw come one Ste-man, it's a raccoon." Amethyst said. "They're bound to play dead."

"Amethyst has a point." Garnet agreed. "Well, let's try my healing spit and see what happens." Steven licked his hand and tried to touch the raccoon with it before it grabbed his hand. The critter was now awake!

"Get your slimy hands offa me twerp!" Rocket shouted. "Wait, it can talk?" Lapis exclaimed.

"Of course I can talk," the furball proclaimed. "There ain't anybody in this universe like me except me!"

Just then, Drax burst through the window armed with his daggers, laughing like a maniac along the way. "You fell for our trap!" he shouted as he got up. He continued laughing as Star-Lord opened the door.

"You know Drax, you could've just kicked down the door." Peter said as he let himself, Gamora and Groot inside. "I know, but jumping through the window is much cooler." the destroyer replied.

"Okay, first the talking raccoon, then the beefy guy breaking the window and now this?" Amethyst exclaimed. "Who are you?" Garnet shouted as her hands turned into gauntlets.

"We're the Guardians of the freakin' Galaxy," Rocket said dusting himself off and joining his team. "And we're here for that Peridot of yours!"

The words Rocket said alone were enough to get Peridot freaking out. "I knew it, Yellow Diamond has come for me!" she screamed as she hid under the table.

"We won't let you take Peridot!" Pearl shouted as she took a spear out of her gemstone, followed by Amethyst summoning a whip and Steven a shield. "Yeah, try and stop us chumps!" Amethyst added.

"Who you callin' chumps shorty? Now it's war!" Rocket exclaimed as he pulled out his laser cannon with Gamora unsheathing her sword, Star-Lord loading his pistols and Groot putting up his fists.

The great battle between the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Crystal Gems has begun.

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone! Sorry if it's a bit long, I promise chapter 3 will be a bit shorter. Also, chapter 2 of Fooly Falls is in progress so stay tuned!


	3. Come and Get Your Gems

**Clod on the Run**

 **Chapter 3: Come and Get your Gems**

* * *

When we last left the Guardians of the Galaxy, they had crash-landed on Earth in search of a Gem named Peridot, in which they were assigned to capture her. After some searching, they found her alongside some other Gems, and that's where we begin here.

The Guardians had come face to face with a group of Gems and a boy who were adamant on protecting Peridot from them. As the two groups prepared for battle, Drax was the first to attack. "Come at me women!" he called as he charged towards Garnet, punching her in the face. Garnet, reeling from the punch, got back up glaring angrily at the destroyer as she punched back.

"Alright a-holes, you know what to do!" Star-Lord shouted as the Guardians charged. Rocket jumped Amethyst before slamming his laser blaster in her face. Gamora and Pearl's blades began clanking as the two dueled while Groot took on Lapis.

"I AM GROOT!" the tree shouted as he attempted to bodyslam Lapis, but failing to do so as he was catapulted to the ceiling by a large water current she summoned. Star-Lord wasn't doing any better as he had the child cornered, completely indecisive on what to do with him. "Look, I know you're a kid but your friends are pissing off my friends but maybe we could reach a compromise." he said as he pointed his laser pistol at Steven. "We'll take the Peridot and maybe you could hook me up with one of your friends with a candlelight dinner. It'll be charming!"

"That does sound like an enticing offer," Steven said. "but I'm still not letting you take Peridot!" He picked up a television set and chucked it at Peter, knocking him down in the process and breaking the table Peridot was hiding under. "Hey everyone, first one to grab Peridot gets free drinks!" Peter shouted.

Meanwhile, Drax and Gamora had Garnet and Pearl surrounded, planning on how to attack them. "Alright Drax, I've got a plan." Gamora said as she continued swordfighting Pearl. "You take on the one with the nose while I handle the square one."

"How about I take both of them on with both my eyes closed and one hand behind my back!" Drax shouted as he did just that, running around in circles before crashing into the front wall, making a giant hole in the process.

"Drax you moron." the green warrior moaned before taking on Pearl again. "Seriously, what are you Gems doing here?" she wondered. "Because we've sworn to protect the people of Earth from Homeworld and crooks like you!" Pearl replied before striking her opponent.

Rocket had just finished beating up Amethyst, getting a few more whacks in with his weapon before turning to the broken table, noticing the fallen TV when he got an idea. "It's like they always say, one man's trash is another's treasure." he said to himself as he started rooting through it.

Peridot scampered throughout the battlefield looking for a place to hide when she noticed Amethyst getting up after having been beat up. "Good grief Amethyst, are you alright?" she worriedly asked. "Yep, I'm A-OK." the purple Gem replied woozily. "Just a few scratches." As Peridot helped her up, the two stood back to back ready to face these invaders.

"Listen, just leave Peridot alone!" Lapis shouted dousing Groot with more water. "I am Groot!" Groot shouted back before throwing his fist at her chest, knocking her into a wall.

"I am Groot?" the Flora Colossus began calling for his furry friend until he noticed him toying with various pieces of technology stuffed into a cooking pot. "Hey Groot, listen to me." the ringtailed gunslinger whispered. "I'm working on a black hole bomb but I'm gonna need a few things. Think you could grab me that blender?"

"I am Groot?" Groot wondered before taking notice of the blender and handing it to Rocket. "Thanks buddy." he thanked. "I am Groot." Groot replied. "Attention idiots!" Rocket announced hopping onto the counter, grabbing the attention of everyone. "Dis thingamabob is a highly dangerous black hole bomb which when set off, can reduce this house along with part of this town into a crater!" The Gems panicked as the raccoon set the timer to one minute.

"Damnit Rocket, is trying to kill us really necessary?" Star-Lord shouted. "Hey, it's just like what I said when we left that human zoo Quill," Rocket replied. "We might die on this mission, but at least we'll be havin' fun!"

"Quick P, your metal powers!" Amethyst called to Peridot. "Wait, metal powers?" Rocket wondered as the green Gem threw out her arms, somehow making the bomb levitate. "What the hell?!" was the only thing the critter said as she tossed it outside, making it soar way out to sea when it finally detonated, creating a large black sphere that swallowed the surrounding water.

"YOU!" Rocket bellowed angrily turning towards Peridot. "Don'tcha realize what you've done you crazy little gremlin?!" He pounced her and started to claw at her face until he was whacked over the head by Lapis with a frying pan. "Alright," he finally growled, whipping out his bazooka. "which one dies first?"

Drax had gotten up from crashing through the wall earlier, feeling a bit lightheaded when he came face to face with a little black-haired girl unsheating a pink sword from a bag. "What is this little girl doing here?" he exclaimed. "This must be one of their tricks!"

The girl was bewildered to find this strange man at Steven's house until she turned around, finding her friends fighting a cowboy, a green girl, a giant tree and a raccoon holding Lapis & Peridot at gunpoint. "WHAT IS GOING ON?!" she exclaimed as loud as her lungs can take it, which stopped the fighting and made everyone turn to her.

"Oh, hey Connie!" Steven finally said. "For your information kid, the purple one started it." Rocket added.

* * *

As everything started to calm down, the Guardians and the Gems were seated across from each other, glaring at one another. Steven and Connie tried to calm them down and rationalize the situation. "Before we get things started, why don't we introduce each other?" Steven said. "My name's Steven Universe and this is my best friend Connie Maheswaran."

"That name is quite a mouthful." Gamora pointed out. "Anyway, my name is Gamora." She shook Connie's hand with a smile. "They call me Drax." Drax added with a smirk. "Name's Rocket and this is my buddy Groot." Rocket stated. "I am Groot."

"And my name," Star-Lord said once again trying to look tough. "Is Star-Lord!" Silence filled the house before Steven gasped. "Does that mean you're like a king?!" he asked excitedly."What, no! I just picked the name because it sounds cool." Peter answered. "Anyway, together we form the Guardians of the Galaxy. So how's about you?"

"We are the Crystal Gems!" Garnet announced proudly before summoning her gauntlets. "Garnet!"

Amethyst followed up by summoning her whip. "Amethyst!"

Pearl did a pirouette and pulled out her spear. "Pearl!"

Steven leapt into the air as high as he could. "And Steven!" Off to the side, Peridot ran up in front of Rocket. "And I'm Peridot." she said. "And this is my closet confidant and roommate Lapis Lazuli."

"Hey." Lapis said waving. "Well that was...something." Peter said. "So what's next?" That's when Steven got an idea.

"How about we bond and talk about one another?" he asked. "Good idea Ste-ste, maybe I can show 'em my old home!" Amethyst grabbed Gamora by the hand as she walked her to the Warp Pad, with Pearl and Drax following behind. "We could take Rocket and Groot to the barn." Lapis added.

"Whoa whoa whoa kid, time out for a bit." Rocket said. "We just met and tried to kill each other. Why are you so forgiving right now?"

"That's the magic of Steven," Garnet answered. "he's very forgiving." Rocket & Groot then made their way outside with Lapis, Peridot and Pumpkin. "Alright blockhead, I get it. He's the nicest guy anyone could meet." Rocket grimaced. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go."

"Guess that leaves us three." Peter finally said. "Yeah, maybe we can talk over some Cookie Cat." Steven said as he walked towards the refrigerator and pulled a delicious looking treat in the shape of a cat's head. "How can I say no to that?!"

* * *

Amethyst, Gamora, Drax and Pearl had found themselves in a large canyon riddled with several holes and strange machines that looked broken. "WELCOME TO THE KINDERGARTEN!" Amethyst shouted, which echoed throughout the canyon.

"This is your home?" Drax asked. "I don't see a house anywhere!" As the four hopped off the Warp Pad and started journeying through the Kindergarten, Amethyst began excitedly explaining her origins. "This is where I came from!" she stated. "I was originally made to be a Quartz soldier for the Gem Homeworld, but I popped out a little too late and became what you're looking at now."

Then Amethyst's smile disappeared as she continued on. "I wandered this place for years without a purpose until Rose Quartz found me, and ever since then I felt happy with my new life, but I still feel kinda worthless deep inside."

"So wait, she isn't from Homeworld?" Drax inquired as Gamora walked over to the purple Gem's side. "You are correct Drax." Pearl answered.

"Hey, I know where you might be coming from." Gamora said sitting down next to Amethyst, trying to connect with her. "My race was wiped out by the Mad Titan Thanos and I was taken in by him to be his number one assassin. I did nothing but kill people until I met Peter and the others."

"Hey, thanks for trying to help G." Amethyst said before hugging Gamora, who sheepishly returned it. "Alright, back to the tour!" the purple Gem bounded out of her arms and started walking, with the others close behind.

"Lemme see, that was 4ZH's hole, 9FR, 6TQ," she then stopped when she went in front of another hole. "And this is my hole!"

"Astounding." Drax gasped in awe. "These holes are so cramped yet they can produce mighty warriors!" He crawled into the hole, examining the various layers of rock. When he got out, he discovered that Amethyst was missing and a purple lookalike of him in her place. "You!" he shouted pointing his daggers at the clone. "I do not tolerate imitators, now tell me what have you done with Amethyst!"

The clone laughed heartily in a rather feminine tone as it turned back into Amethyst in a flash of light. "Got you!" she chuckled.

"But how, how are you able to turn into me? Are you part Skrull?" he wondered. "Is he really that dense?" Pearl asked Gamora.

"His species is much less evolved." she replied. "It's not like that tattoos," the Quartz finally said. "it's called shapeshifting, and most Gems have the ability to do that. Watch!" She turned herself into a perfect duplicate of Groot, only difference was that she retained her purple color and gemstone.

"Wow." Gamora said. "You said most Gems are able to do that right?" she asked. "Only the more advanced Era-1 ones." Pearl answered. "I'll explain more as we go along."

* * *

Lapis was flying Peridot, Groot and Pumpkin to their home while Rocket followed her on a jetpack. The flight proved very hard for the ocean Gem due to Groot's weight while he held her arms. She felt relieved upon touching down on a field near the barn. "Wait just a minute," Rocket said. "this is your place?"

"You bet Rocket, our home away from Homeworld!" Peridot replied joyfully as she led their guests through the cornfield to the barn. Upon arriving at the front door, she noticed a pile of broken drones sitting there near them. "Just ignore it kid." the raccoon stated as they walked inside.

"Anyways, welcome to our home." Peridot announced. "We've once used this place to build stuff to stop a giant Gem monster from destroying the Earth but now I've decided to live here. Eventually Lapis came along too." Rocket and Groot were both befuddled and interested at the same time.

"What giant gem monster?" the furball asked. "I am Groot?" Groot added. "Basically, the Diamonds stuck a giant ball of Gem shards beneath the Earth's surface and wanted it to form so that it can destroy Earth." Lapis explained.

"That's actually kinda messed up." Rocket reacted. "So what's this piece of garbage?" He pointed at the tape recorder. "That's not just garbage, it's art!" Peridot explains. "

We call it meep morps." Lapis added. "This is a couple of baseball things, it reminds me of a time when I played baseball." She gestured towards a baseball, bat & catcher's mitt tied to a string. "And this is called 'Wow, Thanks'. It has no purpose, other than making me feel bad." Peridot then pointed at the tape recorder.

"I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed in amazement. "Not impressed." Rocket said. "So you're not impressed, eh?" Peridot said getting up in the critter's face. "Well try my one Gem band on for size!" With that, she summons a couple instruments preparing to play.

"Ta-da! And a-one and a-two and a-one-two-three-four!" Blowing into the harmonica, all of the instruments fell down. "Ugh, I really got to practice more."

"Bravah squirt, bravah!" Rocket applauded laughing, much to Peridot's chagrin. Thankfully he was stopped when Groot tapped his shoulder. "Fine I'll stop." Walking over to the instruments laid out, Groot picked the cymbals and crashed them together. "I am Groot." he said in wonder, crashing them more. "Maybe we could turn our duet into a trio." Lapis said picking up the tambourine. "Yeah!" Peridot replied as she brought forth a triangle.

With that, the three started playing a tune with Groot chanting "I am Groot" in time with the beat and Rocket & Pumpkin as the audience. "You getting' this buddy?" Rocket said to Pumpkin, who barked in reply. "Agh, I'm surrounded by idiots!" he shouted as he ran out the barn and scampered up to the pickup truck over the front door. He just wanted some alone time as he curled up into a ball until Lapis flew up on him.

"You alright Rocket?" she asked sitting down next to him. "You seem pretty upset." Rocket groaned as he uncurled.

"Like I said before, I tried to kill you and take your friend prisoner. Why are you suddenly forgiving me?" he wondered. "Like Garnet said, Steven knows how to get to people." the water Gem replied. "But I do have a question myself."

"What would that be?" the mercenary said. "Why are you like, a raccoon?" she wondered. "Seriously, da hell's a raccoon?" he answered. "Anyway, I'm this way because I was experimented on by some quack scientists. I didn't ask to be ripped apart and put back together again for the sake of some crazy experiments!" He started to cry and hug Lapis, who embraced him in reply.

"I feel your pain." Lapis replied. "I was sent here by the Gem Homeworld to just pay a visit, until I was caught in the war and poofed. After being put in a mirror, they all left me behind when the Diamonds corrupted all Gems on Earth. Eventually I was found by Steven and released, and that's where we are now."

"Trapped in a mirror? Puh-leeze, I've broken out of prison 23 times!" the raccoon bragged. "I also heard something about a Jasper that went missin' a while back." His very statement alone made her cringe. "Oh yeah, her."

"After I returned to Homeworld, I was partnered with Peridot and a Jasper to go to earth and capture the Crystal Gems. Eventually I was forced to fuse with her to keep everyone safe. We tortured each other for months on end until I was freed." Lapis explained.

"Wait a minute, you mean THE Jasper?! The very same Jasper that fought in the Rebellion?" Rocket was shocked to hear this. "I'm pretty sure I can take her down in a Xandarian minute!"

Lapis giggled at that statement and smiled. "Gotta say, you're pretty tough Rocket." she said. "Thanks Tidal, for being someone to talk to." Rocket replied.

"Hey guys, there you are!" Peridot called as she, Pumpkin and Groot climbed up the truck. "We've been looking for you." she said. "I am Groot!" Groot added. "Oh don't mind us, we were just talkin' bout things." Rocket claimed. "Say, you two wanna watch Camp Pining Hearts with us?" the green Gem asked. "Camp Pine What-now?"

Peridot turned on the TV in front of them and the screen started showing two humans looking longingly at each other."What kinda garbage is this?" Rocket complained as everybody sat down, much to Peridot's anger.

"Hey, I'll have you know this is the greatest TV show ever!" she shouted in his face. "Whoa whoa whoa, chill out Greeny!" the gunslinger replied. "I'm just stating my opinion."

"Shush you guys, this is a great episode." Lapis ordered as she and Groot got engrossed into the program. "Oh alright, I'll watch it. But I won't like it!" Rocket finally said as he sat down.

* * *

"So that's your mom, eh?" Peter said looking at a portrait of Rose Quartz hanging over the front door. "You bet Petey." Steven answered.

"Long ago, she was the original leader of the Crystal Gems, inspiring us all to be our own individuals and fight back against Homeworld." Garnet stated. "If she were here, she would be very proud of our achievements."

"Yeah, where is she anyway?" he asked. "Why she's right here." Connie answered pulling up Steven's shirt, revealing a pink gem where his bellybutton would be. "Whoa, cool!" the space cowboy gasped in awe, tapping the gem. "Is it like a family heirloom or something?" he asked. "Actually, that's my mom herself!" Steven exclaimed, much to Star-Lord's surprise. "Wait, wha?"

"Basically my mom and I can't both exist together so she's now half of me." the boy explained.

"Wait still, how is that even possible?" Star-Lord asked. "Long story." Garnet answered. "But I'll tell you a shorter one." As she finished that sentence, he started to glow and shrunk down to two little women, one red one with a bandana and a blue one with pale blue hair covering her face.

"Hello there Peter." the blue one greeted, much to his shock. "Wait just a minute, first there was Garnet and now she's gone and replaced by you two! Who are you, what happened?!"

"Oh yeah, sorry about that." the red one apologized. "My name is Ruby and this is my partner Sapphire." She introduced herself as Ruby and motioned to the blue one, now called Sapphire. "Nice to meet you too." Peter said shaking both their hands. "But I still don't get it, first there was Garnet and now there's you two. Can anyone explain why the square woman is two little girls standing on top of each other?"

"That's called fusion." Connie said. "A process in which two people who are very close with each other form an entirely new being, like so." Just then, she and Steven started doing dancing before lining up back to back with their hands touching before they started to glow and change. In their place was a being wearing a combination of their clothes with long dark brown hair. "See?" they asked.

"Wow, this fusion thing seems really awesome!" Star-Lord exclaimed as he picked up his communicator. "I gotta tell the others!" He turned it on and began to contact Rocket. "Hey Rocket, you won't believe what I just saw! Steven's mom is half of him, Garnet is two girls in love standing on top of each other and-"

"Don't leave Pierre, Percy needs you more than your obviously abusive parents!" Rocket sobbed over the communicator.

"Uh, you okay buddy?" Peter wondered. "Don't mind your furry friend here, we just got him hooked on Camp Pining Hearts." Peridot said picking up Rocket's end and hanging up. "Camp Pining Hearts, oh my God I loved that show!" he exclaimed and then he turned to the fusion standing next to him. "So what do I call you? Conneven, Maheswuniverse, or how about Stennie?" he inquired.

"We prefer to be called Stevonnie." they said as they defused back into Steven and Connie. "Hey, think you could show me around this town?" Star-Lord asked. "I thought you'd never ask!" Steven cheerfully replied as he grabbed Peter by the hand and dragged him out the door. "We'll be back later!"

* * *

Peter was taken all across Beach City, being introduced to all of Steven's friends like the Pizza family, Mr. Smiley, the Cool Kids and many more. "Wow kid, you seem pretty well-liked here." he said. "Yeah, I'm friends with pretty much everyone!" Steven replied as he let go of his new friend's hand. "Say, you hungry for some bits?" he asked. "I'm not sure, I just had that Cookie Cat thing but okay then."

Steven guided Peter to the local fry place where a boy around his age with blonde hair resembling steak fries was at the counter. "Hey Peedee, long time no see!" Steven called. "Steven, long time no see too." Peedee replied. "Say, who's the cowboy here?" he asked. "Oh yeah, name's Peter Quill, but tons of people call me Star-Lord." Star-Lord answered. "Lemme guess, the bits?" Peedee asked. "You bet I do!" Steven replied.

Just then, another boy older and taller than Peedee wearing eyeglasses popped up from behind him and pushed him out of the way. "Steven, just the boy I needed to see!" he said. "Hello Ronaldo." Steven greeted flatly.

"I suppose you may have checked Keep Beach City Weird lately because today has been a goldmine for me!" he exclaimed pulling out a tablet and showing off pictures of Groot eating from a paper bag, Drax stuck in a trash can and Rocket chasing Mr. Smiley with a broom as a roller coaster fell apart behind them.

"There have been some sightings recently that suggest that alien lifeforms have infiltrated town and are very bad at disguising themselves to blend in." Ronaldo explained. "You think this means that an invasion is imminent?" Looking over the pictures, Peter immediately recognized his friends in them.

"Hey, those guys are my friends!" he exclaimed. "You know these extraterrestrials?" Ronaldo gasped. "Please tell me!"

"I think he's had enough of your blog bro." Peedee said walking back to the counter with some fry bits. "Here's your fry bits Steven." He handed the bits to Steven and the two made their way. "Thanks kid!" Peter thanked as they sat down on a nearby bench."So tell me Steven," he said with his mouthful of fry bits. "tell me again, what happened to your mom?"

"She actually had to give up her physical form so that I could be born." Steven replied. "The Gems and my dad really miss her, and they've only told stories about how great of a person she was."

Star-Lord, knowing what it feels like to lose a mom, put a sympathetic arm around Steven. "That's rough buddy." he said. "Back when I was a kid, I was abducted by aliens after I lost my mom too."

* * *

Young Peter Quill has just rushed out of the hospital into an open field after watching his mother die of cancer before his eyes. He was incredibly traumatized over this and lied there in the field crying until a bright light shone over him. A strange spacecraft was hovering over him and then suddenly, everything went black.

Waking up much later, Peter found himself in a place where he could see Earth getting smaller and smaller. "Wait, what's going on?" he wondered. "Where am I?!" Suddenly he noticed an arrow flying towards him which he narrowly dodged.

"You're on my turf now kid." a voice stated. Walking out of the shadows, the voice belonged to a blue humanoid creature with a scruffy beard and a small fin on his head. "Name's Yondu Udonta, leader of the Ravagers." he greeted. "And you must be Meredith's kid, Peter."

"How do you know my name, how do you know my mom?!" the boy panicked. "Calm yourself boy, she's told me to bring you to your daddy." Yondu calmed him down.

"You know my dad?" Peter wondered. "Yeah, can't tell you anything about him," the alien replied. "other than the fact that he's a jackass!"

"Wow, guess he wasn't as cool as I thought he would." Peter said to himself as the blue man laughed. "How 'bout this kid?" Yondu asked. "How about I teach you the ways of my gang, the Ravagers?" The boy looked up at him in excitement. "Yeah, I guess!" he exclaimed.

* * *

"Wow, that Yondu sounds like a pretty cool guy." Steven said. "You bet he was!" Peter replied as they finished up the fry bits. "He taught me everything he knows, transforming me into the badass you're hanging out with today."

The two looked up at a nearby clock to find that it read 3:10pm."Say, think we should head back to your place?" he asked. "Yeah, let's."

Walking back to the beach house, they found no one else except Lion napping. "Hey, where did Garnet and Connie go?" Star-Lord asked.

"Oh yeah, must be time for swordfighting practice." Steven replied. "Wait, what?" his older companion wondered. "Pearl has been training Connie on fighting with a sword for a while now. I think you should come along and watch." Steven explained as he woke up Lion.

"Hey Lion, wanna come with us to the Sky Arena?" he asked his furry friend. Roaring as it yawned, Lion licked its lips and guided the two to the Warp Pad.

"So what do I do to activate it, just click my heels a few times while saying 'There's no place like home'?" Peter asked standing on the pad. "No, you just need to think about where you want to go and then poof, you're there." Steven replied. "Okay, now watch this." Putting his hands to his head and closing his eyes, the Gem-human hybrid began to concentrate until the three of them disappeared in a beam of light.

* * *

Meanwhile deep in space, another ship had touched down in Pink Diamond's human zoo, a yellow and blue one bearing the symbol of the Nova Corps. The pilot exited the craft, revealing himself to be a white furred leopard-like creature wearing a black & yellow bodysuit, but his most unusual trait was his cybernetic eye and machine gun arm. This was Titus, former Nova Corpsman and ally of the Chitauri. He was currently hunting down the Guardians for crimes against the Nova Corps and was led here.

"They had to have been here, I just know it." he said to himself as he walked up to the two Amethysts guarding the door. "You there, I request an audience with Blue Diamond!" he announced to them.

"Sorry furball, but she's out right now." one of them stated. "Who are you calling a furball?!" Titus barked. "I was an esteemed member of the Nova Corps and I demand your respect!" As the two Quartz soldiers summoned their weapons, Titus prepared to fire from his arm, until the three were put to a halt.

"Stop right there!" a voice commanded. The Amethysts stood in attention as Holly Blue Agate stepped forth, coming face to face with Titus. "Holly Blue Agate." the former Nova Corpsman said as he lowered his weapon. "I've heard stories about how terrifying you were, but I never realized we would meet one day."

The Agate rolled her eyes and angrily turned to the Amethysts. "I've told you once, I've told you thousands of times! Never disrespect our visitors!" she shouted at them. "We apologize Holly Blue Agate, please don't have us executed!" the two Amethysts saluted while looking nervously at one another.

"Now then my good sir, what brings you here?" Holly Blue asked turning back to Titus. "Very good question," he replied with courtesy as he brought up a hologram of the Guardians. "I am searching for a group of miscreants known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, and a tracking beacon I've placed on their ship has led me here. Though it seems I was misled."

"Oh, those rogues." Holly Blue said. "You've already missed them. They've left on a mission to search for a renegade Peridot for the Diamonds but they haven't called back yet."

She took the hologram from Titus's hand and zoomed in on Rocket specifically."We have quite a history with this rodent after he stole a batch of Rose Quartz gems from here for Tanaleer Tivan and he returned to us to seek redemption by taking this job."

Titus was about ready to shoot up the human zoo, but he contained his rage and put on a smug grin. "I have an idea." he calmly said. "How about we form an alliance? I redeem myself by capturing these Guardians while you get to shatter that rogue Peridot along with imprisoning any other beings with her."

Holly Blue was unsure of the idea, but anything to please her Diamond. "Alright then, it's a deal." she replied shaking his hand.

The Guardians and the Gems didn't know yet, but they are not ready for this deadly alliance

* * *

Thanks for being so patient everyone, chapter 4 is coming soon! But now, a moment of silence for a comic book legend.

 **In Loving Memory of William "Adam" West Anderson**

 **To the Caped Crusader and the Mayor of Quahog**

 **Thank you for the memories old chum, now rest in peace**


	4. Hooked on a Fusion

**Clod on the Run**

 **Chapter 4: Hooked on a Fusion**

* * *

Steven, Star-Lord and Lion had immediately arrived at the Sky Arena via Warp Pad. Looking around, Peter saw a large stone structure that was heavily damaged with strange writings in some places but the thing that caught his eye was a rhombus-like symbol with four sections, all with the colors yellow, blue, white and pink. "Hey, it's the diamonds' symbol!" he said pointing to it. "But why is there pink on it when the one I saw had three?"

"This is an older version." Steven replied. "The new one was made after Pink Diamond was shattered-" Peter then put his hand out to interrupt him. "I know, by a Rose Quartz." he said. "No, not just any Rose Quartz, _my mom_ Rose Quartz." Star-Lord was stunned to hear this. He knew from Gamora's story that Pink Diamond was destroyed by one of her own soldiers, but until now he didn't realize that the Rose that did the crime would later give birth to Steven.

"Oh God, that's messed up!" he exclaimed. "I know, but she did what she had to do to save Earth. Now let's go."

The two walked inside the arena to find Connie clashing swords with Gamora with Pearl standing close by and the others in the stands. "Oh hey Quill, how's it going with the kid?" Rocket asked as they sat down, looking somewhat more cheerful than usual. "We're doing fine Rocket." Peter replied.

"Say, is I me or are you less surly than usual?" he wondered. "Oh I'm fine, it's just that Groot, Peridot, Lapis and I had a fun time at the barn." Rocket replied. "Well, good to know buddy."

Meanwhile, Connie and Gamora continued clashing, with the young human even landing a few hits on her smaragdine skin. "You know Connie, Pearl really has trained you well." the assassin said before clinking blades a few more times.

"Yeah, she's a good teacher. She learned from Rose." the girl replied parrying back. "Woo, go Connie!" Amethyst cheered from the stands.

"So tell me Peter, what did you do with the boy?" Drax asked his companion. "Oh yeah, it turns out that Garnet is actually two little girls standing on top of each other." the former thief answered. The other Guardians were shocked, but Garnet took it in stride. "In a way, he's right." she said. "I'm actually a fusion."

"If you're a 'fusion', then where the grop are those little girls Quill mentioned?" Rocket wondered. "You see Rocket, a fusion requires two Gems to be in perfect harmony, which is the case with them who are a couple." the fusion explained as she shaped her hands into a heart over her chest."Yeah, what she said." Peter added.

"So what do you say guys, want us to show you?" Amethyst asked. "I am Groot." Groot answered. "Oh well, got nothing better to do now." Rocket added. "Does it actually involve standing on top of each other?" Drax inquired.

"Yo Pearl!" the purple Quartz shouted to her thin as a rail companion. "These guys want us to show them fusion!" Pearl turned towards the stand with a uneasy on her face. "Are you really sure Amethyst?" she said. "Besides, it's been quite a long while since we formed Opal and I think we might be a bit rusty."

"Aw come on Pearl, you can do it!" Steven called. "I can even play the song again!" He pulled out a ukulele and started strumming as he sang.

"All I wanna do is see you turn into a giant woman,  
A giant woman!  
All I wanna be is someone who gets to see a giant woman."

"Okay Steven, we'll do it." Pearl said chuckling as she and Amethyst took their places and bowed to one another as their gems glowed. As the Guardians watched, they noticed Pearl's dancing was much more graceful compared to Amethyst's more rough style. When the two Gems connected with one another, they began to fully glow and form into a singular being, a large periwinkle colored figure with long white-ish hair tied into various ponytails, four arms and her gemstones on her head and chest.

"WHOO, GIANT WOMAN!" Steven cried as the new Gem turned to the others. "Hello there Steven, been a long while since we last met." she greeted the boy. "So this is that giant woman I've heard about huh?" Rocket said looking at her. "You bet Rocket. I am Opal."

"I was right, it is like they're standing on top of each other!" Drax exclaimed. "You can put it like that Drax." Opal replied. "So, want me to show you my skills?" she asked. "I got a few holo-targets you can use. Rocket answered pulling out four holographic discs from his person. "Where do even keep all the stuff you carry?" Peter wondered. "That's best left classified."

As Rocket tossed the holo-targets into the air, Opal summoned Pearl's spear & Amethyst's whip and combined them into a bow and arrow. "You see, Opal's really cool!" Steven exclaimed to Star-Lord. "I know that now!" he replied. The fusion carefully aimed at the targets and fired an arrow which split into three more and destroyed them all.

"WOO, GO OPAL!" Steven cheered as she defused back into Amethyst and Pearl. "Thanks Steven." Amethyst thanked.

"You know, Opal was really cool and all, but what else you Gems got?" Rocket asked.

"Well, we also have Sugilite." Garnet responded. "Like Opal, she hasn't been seen for a while, last I remember Amethyst & I fused to destroy the communication hub." Pearl cringed at that statement, getting flashbacks of what happened the last time they were at that location before turning around with a strained smile on her face. "Heh heh, sure why not?" she nervously said.

"Are you okay there Pearl?" Gamora wondered standing next to her. "Oh it's nothing Gamora, it's just that Sugilite and I have a...history together, that's all." she replied. "I can tell you!" Amethyst said. "Basically, Garnet & I had to fuse to get rid of a communication tower that was transmitting messages to Homeworld and we went all crazy until Pearl had to put us down! Then the next time we fused was after Garnet got kinda pissed at Pearl for rebuilding the place so that they could fuse again and-"

"Okay Amethyst, I think they've heard enough." Pearl interrupted with a scowl on her face. "No, don't cut her off! She was getting to the good part!" Drax responded gleefully. "I am Groot!" Groot added.

"Pearl's right guys, I think she's starting to feel bad." Peridot stated. "Oh right, my apologies." the destroyer quickly apologized.

"Well what're we waitin' for guys, let's go already!" the defective Quartz hollered excitedly as she took her place close to the fusion. "Synchronize!" Garnet announced with her hands out before busting a move. Amethyst started dancing as well as her gemstone started glowing.

When the two finally merged, the result was a large purple-skinned Gem with long dark hair, four arms like Opal, sharp teeth and large shades laughing boastfully. "Oh yeah, now that's what I'm talkin' about!" the fusion exclaimed stretching her arms before turning to Steven. "Hey little man, been a long while hasn't it?"

"You bet it has Sugilite!" Steven replied excitedly. "Just don't try and hurt anyone with your...shenanigans." Pearl responded groaning.

"I'd like to take part in these shenanigans!" Drax boasted shoving everyone else aside. "You there, the giant woman!" he shouted to Sugilite. "I, the mighty Drax the Destroyer, wish to challenge you!" Sugilite obviously was quite interested in the warrior's challenge. "Ooo-hoo, look at the little man trying to be all macho!" she scoffed as she summoned a flail from her three gems. "Well what're you waitin' for buddy, hit me as hard as you can!"

"With pleasure!" Drax shouted in reply as he ran up and jumped as high as he can, laughing like a maniac along the way. "Is he supposed to be really crazy, really stupid or a little bit of both?" Lapis asked Rocket. "Oh please, he's 'little bit of both' incarnate!" the masked mercenary responded chuckling.

Drax clung himself to Sugilite's body, stabbing at her torso with his twin sai. "I have you on the ropes giant woman, what will you do now?!" he exclaimed, still laughing. "Oh nothing chump," she replied. "just this!" She pulled him off her body and slammed him down to the ground with her flail. "How do like me now buddy?!" she exclaimed as she picked up Drax by the head. "Actually, I'm starting to quite dislike you." the destroyer replied as Sugilite let go and tossed him into the stands with a mighty wind-up punch.

"Oh my gosh Drax, are you alright?" Connie cried as they all rushed to his aid. "I am alright small Earth child, it's just that my nipples are in serious pain." he replied.

"What'd I tell ya, little bit of both incarnate." Rocket added chuckling some more. "Don't worry Drax, I got your back." Steven said as he rushed to the warrior's side, licked his own hand and placed it on his chest, magically healing his wounds. "I can't believe it, your disgusting germs have saved my life!" Drax boldly shouted getting up to his feet. "How do you do it?"

"I inherited this from my mom." Steven explained. "It's how I helped Lapis when her gem was cracked and how I accidentally healed Connie's eyes." The aforementioned two smiled. "It's true." they said in unison. "Wow, Gems seem really cool!" Peter exclaimed. "I mean, all those weapons, the fusions, speaking of which what can Garnet and Pearl become?"

"They can fuse into Sardonyx." Steven replied, which made Pearl even more uneasy. "Lemme guess, it's related to the whole thing about the communication tower?" Drax wondered. "Indeed it is." she replied. "Don't worry Pearl, I'm sure we can fuse without thinking about what happened." Garnet reassured. "Alright then, let's get to it I guess."

The two took their places as everyone else watched. Unlike Opal and Sugilite, the dance was more slow and seductive. They eventually formed a vermillion-skinned Gem with triangular hair and a torso that resembled a tuxedo."GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE!" she boldly announced. "This is Sardonyx, back once again and now we have a special guest appearance from...what's your name sonny?" She formed a warhammer out of Pearl's spear & Garnet's gauntlets and pointed it in Star-Lord's direction like a microphone.

"Uh, my name is Peter Quill, though most people call me Star-Lord. I'm the leader of the Guardians of the-" he began to speak before being cut off.

"Oh we have royalty here folks!" Sardonyx exclaimed. "He's not royalty, he just picked that name because it sounds cool."

"No, I'm called Star-Lord because that's what my mom called me." Peter said. "Before she died." His statement was followed up by a studio audience going "ooh!" as everyone else reacted in shock. "Your mother's dead? Oh woe is you Starry!" Sardonyx swooned. "I definitely know how you feel! For example, our cameraman Gary just lost his pet snail to a 40-wheeler! Isn't that right?"

"I can still smell his slime!" the aforementioned cameraman sobbed offscreen. "Okay giant woman, we've had enough of your games," Drax finally said. "what CAN you do?" he asked. "Oh I'm glad you asked Drax!" she replied jumping up into the air while striking a few poses. "Last I checked, the words that best describe me are..."

"SPECIFIC!"

"INTELLIGENT!"

"ACCURATE!"

"FLAWLESS!"

"ELEGANT."

"CONTROLLED!"

"SURGICAL!"

"GRACEFUL!"

"Aaaaand POWERFUL!"

With that last word, Sardonyx slammed her hammer down on the ground, making the entire arena shake. "And yes, I am known to smash." she finished. "Speaking of which, seems I did quite a number on this place! Guess I don't know my own strength." she added laughing while turning her entire torso around.

"Wow Sardonyx, bravo!" Peter exclaimed clapping before urging the others to do the same. "Yeah, you've got good form alright." Gamora added.

"Oh why thank you everyone, but hold your applause!" Sardonyx thanked her loving audience. "Because there's a special guest that I'd like to welcome here today! Everyone put your hands, and paws, together for SMOKY QUARTZ!"

"That's our cue kid!" Amethyst whispered to Steven as she took his hand and they fused into a new Gem with dark brown hair and light-mauve skin. "Whassup everyone?" they exclaimed jumping down next to Sardonyx.

"Whoa, he just fused with a Gem!" Connie gasped in awe. "He can do that?" Drax wondered. "Well, he is half-Gem on Rose's side." Peridot answered. "Great to be here again Sardonyx, now let's get to the 'point' of this meeting." Smoky greeted pointing to Sardonyx's nose, which was responded with a booming laugh from Drax. "I get it, it's because she has a pointy nose!" he guffawed. "Why thank you for that observation sir." Sardonyx responded dryly. "Now then Smoky, why don't you show them what you got?"

"You got it S!" Smoky replied as they formed a yo-yo like weapon out of Steven's shield & Amethyst's whip and bounded high into the sky. "Yeah I can do that, no 'strings' attached!" they called from above as they whirled down to the ground, making their weapon spin incredibly fast as well before touching down as everyone applauded. "Wow, looks like I got more 'fans' than before!" they boasted before summoning another yo-yo and spinning them like fans, knocking the audience off their socks.

"Woo, encore encore!" Peter exclaimed. "Sorry gang, but it looks like I gotta 'split!'" Smoky finally said before defusing back into Steven and Amethyst.

"Bravah you two, that was quite a show!" Sardonyx began applauding as well. "Well it looks like we have to wrap up, so GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY!" As the fusion said her farewells, she shrank back down to Garnet and Pearl.

"That was actually pretty cool you guys." Rocket said with a genuine smile on his face. "Made me forget that we're probably stranded on this planet for a while since the Milano crashed." he added.

"Hey speaking of which, what are we gonna do with that?" Peter asked. "I don't know, maybe we could contact Yondu." Gamora replied. "Wait, who's Yondu?" Steven wondered. "He's a mighty space pirate who's the leader of the Ravagers and Star-Lord's adoptive father." Drax replied.

"Oh, I think I may know of him." Pearl responded with a frown. "He helped me and Rose all those centuries back, but I chose to forget about him."

"Are you kidding me Pearl, he's actually a cool guy!" Peter claimed, trying to defend his friend. "He's a lot like Han Solo or Peter Venkman where they act all mean & tough but deep down they're really nice!"

Pearl still wasn't buying it until Rocket interrupted. "Hold up there Quill. From what I've read about Pearls, they can get pretty salty when it comes to their masters gettin' smooth with others." he smugly explained as the white Gem blushed. "So anyway, are there any more fusions you want to show us?" he asked. "Well, we do have one more Rocket." Garnet replied smiling. "Alexandrite, a fusion of Pearl, Amethyst, and myself."

"And it's like really big!" Connie exclaimed. "And super powerful! It took down another fusion faster than you can say 'Excelsior'!" Steven added excitedly. "Well I'm convinced, let's see it." Gamora said. As she finished her sentences, the Gems took their places. "Ready everyone?" Garnet said. "Ready!" the other two replied.

They started dancing towards their leader, who only stood there & snapped her fingers before busting a move & whirling her arms which the others grabbed onto before they started glowing and formed into a giant pink woman with green hair in the shape of a star. "See, she's huge!" Steven excitedly said.

"Wow, she is pretty big." Lapis said. "Greetings giant-er woman, I am Star-Lord. Pleased to meet you." the space pirate greeted Alexandrite, but she didn't reply. "I guess she's more of the strong, silent type."

"So can Gems fuse with non-Gems?" Drax wondered. "I'm not sure about that guys, the only one who we know who can do that is Steven because well, he's one half human and one half Gem." Rocket answered. "Well who knows, maybe we could try it!" Peter added. "I am Groot." Groot agreed.

"Now lemme see, eeny meeny miny...you!" Star-Lord said choosing between the remaining Crystal Gems before pointing to Lapis, who winced. "Wait, me?!" she exclaimed. "But, I have a bad history with fusion!"

"C'mon Lap, it'll be fun!" Peter stated before scrolling through the music on his Walkman. "I have to agree with Lapis, she's fused before and didn't-you're not even listening are you?" Rocket said as his human friend turned on "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede and started doing moves reminiscent of Elvis. "You can trust me, I'm a great dancer!" he said continuing to dance.

"Oh alright." Lapis finally gave in and started dancing as well, raising her hands and swinging her hips side to side.

As the song went on, they advanced toward one another, with Peter doing a moonwalk and Lapis performing a pirouette, Steven, Peridot, Rocket and Groot watched with uncertainty. "Is something wrong?" Connie asked walking over to them with Pumpkin in her arms.

"Oh it's nothin' kid, it's just that Lapis has, ahem, 'history' with fusion, shall we say." Rocket answered as Star-Lord took Lapis' hand, twirled her around and caught her in a dip, which completely caused the ocean Gem to snap.

"NO!" she screamed escaping from her dancing partner's arms and flying off. "What, was it something I said?" Peter wondered. "Is it because I smell bad? Rocket, sniff my pits and see if I showered!" He raised his hand exposing his smelly underarm.

"Ew, I ain't gonna lay my nose on that greasy wasteland Quill, especially after what happened!" Rocket shouted back. "Seriously, what did I do?" Star-Lord was still confused. "Calm down Rocky, let me explain." Steven stated walking to his older buddy. "You see, back before we met you guys, there was this big mean Gem named Jasper who came to Earth and beat us all up until Garnet defeated her in a fight." he explained. When the chips were down, Jasper fused with Lapis but was trapped underwater as a result."

"Oh God, I feel terrible." Peter realized his recent actions. "I think she might be really pissed off at me, where is she now?" he asked. "Don't feel bad Pete, we all make mistakes." Peridot reassured him. "Also, I think she might be at the steps of the arena." With that, Star-Lord ran away to try and apologize.

Rushing to the arena steps, he found Lapis sitting there with her face buried in her knees. "Uh hey Lapis, it's me Peter." he nervously said. "Sorry about what happened earlier. We still cool?" he asked.

"Apology accepted, but I just need some time alone." Lapis replied glumly. "So I hear you have bad experiences with fusion after you did it with someone named Jasper?" Peter inquired, which made her wince again.

"Yeah, I did it to protect Steven but Jasper was...an utter brute. We fought over control of Malachite for months on end until she finally won. Being stuck with her was an utter nightmare, and-" she explained before she was stopped by Peter putting a hand on her shoulder. "Listen kid, you don't need to be so mopey right now, you got some really cool new friends here." he reassured her and she replied with a grin before hugging him. "Thanks Pete. And I'm sorry for lashing out."

"Hey you two, if you're done bein' all sad and apologetic, we still got Alexandrite out there wanting to show us how she kicks ass." Rocket interrupted the two. "Maybe later Rocket, I gotta go home." Connie added walking behind him. "I had a great time fighting with you Gamora." she thanked the former daughter of Thanos. "It was a pleasure Connie." Gamora replied shaking the girl's hand before she left for the Warp Pad. "See you all later!" Connie called before she vanished in a flash of light.

"Aw man, I really wanted to breath fire!" the newly-defused Amethyst groaned as she followed Garnet and Pearl out.

"Maybe some other time Amethyst." Garnet said to her shorter comrade. "By the way Rocket, you said something about your craft being in disrepair." she turned to the mercenary. "Yeah, I think we crashed because Quill didn't turn on the autopilot." he replied glaring at Peter. "Hey, that story was really intense!" Peter added defensively. "Well, let's see the damage." Peridot decided.

* * *

"Ladies, gentlemen and flora colossus, our proud vessel!" Rocket proclaimed as they all gazed upon the wreckage that used to be the Milano near the barn. "Or what's left of it anyway." he added pawing his face. "So where did you get that name anyway?" Steven asked. "I got it from my childhood crush Alyssa Milano." Star-Lord answered. "Wasn't she on 'Who's the Boss'?" Amethyst added. "You got it Ame!"

"Looking through all this wreckage, some of these parts are completely foreign to me." Pearl said digging through the remains of the ship. "Like this thing for example. What is it?" she asked holding a gizmo that looked like a small spinning top.

"That's a Makua motor from the planet Kirjack." Rocket answered taking it from her hand. "And it looks like it ran out of Isotope-8 from Lithios."

"I said it once and I'll say it again. We need Yondu." Star-Lord announced before taking out a holo-communicator and pressing some buttons on it, which made the image of his former mentor show up, and apparently he was in quite a pickle.

"You'll never take me alive J'son!" he shouted raising his fist before turning to Peter. "Peter, is that you?" he wondered. "He-hey Yondu, been a long while!" Star-Lord replied. "So what're you doing now?" he asked. "Oh let's just say I've pissed off the ruler of Spartax and now he wants me dead." Yondu explained. "Whoa, is that your friend Pete?!" Steven exclaimed. "He's all blue and has that thing on his head!"

"Who's the little squirt there?" Yondu asked. "Oh yeah, my name is Steven Universe and I'm his new friend." the Gem child replied. "The Guardians crashed here on Earth and their ship really needs some fixing. Peter said you might have some parts needed." he added.

"I think I may have a few spares lyin' around kid." Yondu said. "I'll be there in like a day, just gotta get the Spartaxians off my tail first. Later!"

As the holo-communicator shut off, Peter turned to Peridot. "Looks like we're gonna need a place to crash before Yondu gets here," he said. "is it okay if we hang out at the barn?" he asked. "Of course, the more the merrier they always say!" Peridot replied. "By the way, you wanna see the meep-morps Rocket and Groot made?" she followed up.

"Wait, a meep-what?" he wondered. "It's what they call 'art' around here Quill." Rocket replied before pulling out a ball of duct tape. "I call this one 'A Ball of Duct Tape.' It's literally just that, a ball of duct tape." he explained.

"Uh, I am Groot." Groot added before he pulled off a tarp, revealing a finger painting of them. "Is that supposed to be us?" Drax asked pointing to the painted version of himself. "Surely my face isn't that simplistic."

"Oh yeah, almost forgot to tell you guys. I'm planning on staying the night here." Steven interjected."WHOO, SLEEPOVER!" Star-Lord hollered. "What are we gonna do, spin the bottle, truth or dare, pillow fights?!" Everyone was left stunned by his sudden excited outburst until Lapis spoke up.

"I think we should make meep-morps and watch Camp Pining Hearts all night." she suggested. "Yeah, that's a great idea too."

* * *

Meanwhile in a dark part of outer space, Titus and his new ally Holly Blue Agate were soaring across the cosmos in his ship. "How much longer before we reach Earth?" the Homeworld Gem asked. "Approximately 0900 hours." the renegade Nova Corpsman answered. "Mark my words, those Guardians will be behind bars and I will regain both my honor & position."

"Quite the ambitious one, aren't you my friend?" Holly Blue quipped before the alarms sounded and a certain craft caught their eyes. "A Ravager ship, here? Not on my watch!" Titus exclaimed as he began to try and shoot it down.

"Oh great, Nova Corps on my ass now?" Yondu groaned as he began firing back. "Hopefully I can get down there with my head still on!"

It was a long and arduous battle between the space pirate and the duo, with Titus looking to gain the upper hand until his opponent pulled out a trick from up his sleeve. "Hey you furry jackass, take this!" he shouted firing a giant laser blast that took out the enemy ship's boosters and zoomed off. "Correction, 0930 hours." Titus grumbled as they made an emergency landing on the moon.

"I can't believe we were outsmarted by a criminal! Now what do we do?!" he shouted to Holly Blue, who was more interested in a large tower in the distance. "I think I have an idea, follow me." she responded as the two began walking towards it.

* * *

Back on Earth, it was nighttime and everyone had gone to sleep in the barn, except for Groot and Pumpkin who were watching Camp Pining Hearts. Lapis & Peridot slept in a hammock, with the water Gem snoring quite loudly, Amethyst was completely knocked out on the floor with a bucket near her head, Drax, Garnet, Pearl and Rocket resting on a haystack, Gamora leaning on one of the support beams, Star-Lord resting on a curled up Lion and Steven snuggled up in a bug-themed sleeping bag until he opened his eyes.

"Oy, I'm feelin' kinda funny." he whispered to himself climbing out of the sleeping bag to be caught by Groot, who innocently waved to him. Walking over to Lion, he found Peter sleeping soundly. "Hey Pete, I can't sleep." he said touching his face, when suddenly he found himself in an unknown place. Everything was pitch black except for a small speck of light. Walking towards it, he discovered a woman standing before him.

"Oh Peter, my little Star-Lord." she simply said before she vanished in a flash of light, and Steven woke up back in his caterpillar sleeping bag.

"That...that was his name." he realized. "And that was his mom." He went back to sleep with this new information in his head.

* * *

Morning finally came as everyone rose from their slumber, with Rocket walking over to Amethyst's comatose form. "Hey Amy, you still awake?" he said kicking her in the head. "I guess that bucket I stuffed in the pillowcase must've done a real number on your noggin." he mumbled to himself before the defective Quartz finally woke up. "Yeah, I'm alright furball." she said rubbing her eye.

"Morning everyone!" Peter exclaimed as he wrestled himself out of Lion's paws. "So how did everyone sleep last night?"

"Peridot told me Lapis snores very loudly." Drax stated. "Yeah, kinda like this!" she added before imitating her roommate's snoring, much to her chagrin. "So is that Yondu guy coming soon?" Lapis asked the space cowboy. "Yeah, he should be right about now." he replied before they all heard a sound coming from outside. Rushing out from the barn, they all found a shabby-looking spaceship touching down in front of them, and out from it finally came Yondu Udonta.

"Sorry I was late everyone, Spartax is not one to be messed with." Yondu apologized before Peter suddenly ran up and hugged him. "You're finally here!" he exclaimed. "Thanks for the hug kid, now get off me." the Ravager replied shoving his apprentice aside to meet the Gems.

"So you must be that little sprout from earlier today!" he said tousling Steven's hair. "Yeah, my name's Steven Universe." the child giggled. "And these are my friends, the Crystal Gems."

Steven gestured towards his guardians, and the first one Yondu laid eyes on was Garnet. "Hey there," he said to the fusion trying to act all smooth while eyeing both her head and her hips. "I see you're thick as a brick. Maybe we could, I don't know, have a charming candlelight dinner la-"

Garnet suddenly interrupted him. "I think I've heard enough sir." she calmly stated adjusting her visor. "Alright then, whatever you say babe." he responded before turning to Amethyst. "So...you're purple."

"Yep, that's why they call me Amethyst." the Quartz replied. "Nice to meet ya." She shook hands with Yondu before he turned and grimaced at a familiar face to him. "Hello, Pearl." he snarled at Pearl. "Pleasure to see you again too Udonta." the servant Gem sarcastically greeted. "How goes defending the Earth, where's Rose been all these years?" Yondu asked."Rose passed away a long time ago, she married a human man and gave birth to their son." she replied pointing to Steven. "Wait, he's her son?" the Ravager gasped. "But I thought all Gems were girls!"

"Actually, I'm part Gem myself!" Steven replied before Rocket came along and dragged him away. "I think it's best we leave these two be." he said.

"So anyway, you still lusting after Pinky even after she's died you stuck-up, hoity-toity, manipulative pebble?!" Yondu snapped. "She was a hero to all of us you thief, and if you can't realize it you should just leave!" Pearl shouted back. "Guys, wait!" Steven exclaimed getting between the two. "Let's try to calm down and talk, why do guys not like each other?" he asked.

"Well kid, it all goes back many years ago, so long I can't even remember." the Centaurian answered as he began reminiscing on the time he met Rose and Pearl.

* * *

"Here you go Pip, a couple of Robonoids stolen from the Diamonds. Hope you're happy!" Yondu said to Pip the Troll as he quickly escaped from an Earth spaceport to a nearby dropship. The Ravager stayed behind hiding from the Topaz guards until he heard sounds of combat followed by a large poof. Peeking from behind the pile of cargo, he noticed a large pink woman and her thin white companion standing over a group of yellow gems. He tried his best to keep quiet until they turned to notice him. "Hello there." the pink one greeted walking over to him.

"Uh, hello there too babe." Yondu nervously replied getting up from his hiding place.

"I am Rose Quartz, and this is my confidant Pearl." the figure, now calling herself Rose Quartz, said. "Name's Yondu Udonta, how are you doing? By the way, why are you here anyway?" the blue alien asked. "We have defected from the Gem Homeworld after we sworn to protect the people of Earth." Pearl stated. As she continued on about their origin and motives, Yondu just wasn't paying attention.

"Are you even listening?" Pearl inquired. "Oh sorry, just thinkin' about stuff." he apologized. "By the way, I think there might be a few guards onto us." He pointed to a group of Gems charging towards them, led by a small red one with her gemstone in her eye.

"There he is, and he has criminals with him as well!" the red Gem exclaimed. "Wait, criminals?" Yondu was confused about what she just said before one of the guards, a Jasper, punched him in the gut.

"Stand back sir, we got this!" Pearl exclaimed summoning her spear and stabbing an Amethyst guard with it, poofing her in the process. Rose meanwhile got into a swordfight with a Citrine and won.

"I can't believe you're all so weak against them!" the guards' leader groaned smacking her own face. "That's it, I'm capturing them myself!" She whipped out a chisel knife from her Gem and charged at Yondu. "So you think you can match me, eh?" Yondu said to the little Gem. "Well allow me to show you what I can do."

He started whistling, which summoned a single arrow to his side and striking the Jasper that attacked him earlier, poofing her. He continued whistling as the arrow zoomed around, taking down Gems left and right until the one standing before him was the only one left. "But...how?!" she howled before running off.

"Hehe, Rubies." Pearl chuckled as she put away her spear. "Thank you for helping us Yondu," Rose thanked him. "now is there anyway we can repay you?"

"Well maybe you could help me get off this planet?" the Ravager offered. "My ship crash-landed somewhere 'round here and a friend of mine took the last dropship." Rose was more than happy to help him. "I think Pearl might be useful in helping you. Lead us to your ship." she said walking away from him as he took her arm. Yondu took one last look at Pearl, who wasn't looking quite happy with the two. "What're you lookin' at beanpole?"

* * *

"Okay, so maybe I was a bit show-offish, but at least you helped me out in getting back into space." Yondu finished his flashback sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "And maybe I was a bit too jealous. I was just a Pearl and he was a roguish space pirate who took care of all those guards so easily." Pearl added looking at the Centaurian. "Is there anyway we can at least make a truce?"

"Oh what the hell, put 'er there skinny!" Yondu exclaimed boisterously patting her on the back, much to her displeasure. "Alright, now let's get to fixing our-" Star-Lord said before Peridot interrupted him. "WAIT!" she hollered running up to Yondu. "You didn't meet me and Lapis yet!"

"Well how do ya do kid, I suppose you must be Peridot." Yondu said kneeling down to the former Homeworld Gem's eye-level. "Indeed I am, and this is my roommate Lapis Lazuli and our pet Pumpkin!" Peridot introduced the two as Lapis nonchalantly waved hello.

"Alright, now that everyone's introduced we can get to work on the Milano." Rocket stated. "And I got the perfect montage music for it!" Peter added turning on "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" before they all got to work.

Peridot helped Rocket with the engine and hull while Pearl worked on the interior. Lapis used her water powers to wash off all the dirt & grime before splashing Drax and Groot. Garnet pounded a few metal panels in before letting Yondu screw them tight. Gamora & Amethyst helped fix up the controls, with Amethyst swallowing all the old parts like a trash can. Finally, Steven and Peter added the finishing touches by fixing up the cassette player. At last, the Milano was finally fixed.

"I have to say, we make quite a team." Gamora finally said as they all admired their handiwork. "Well kid, guess this is goodbye." Peter said to Steven as they all began walking back to their ship. "It's been fun meeting you guys." Steven replied. As everyone said their farewells, suddenly there was a ringing sound coming from Steven's pocket, he pulled out his phone from there and found a text from Connie saying "Come back to the temple now, someone's broken in!"

"Oh my gosh, something really bad must be up back at Beach City!" Steven panicked. "Whoa whoa whoa, calm down there squirt!" Yondu replied. "Now then, I'm pretty sure it must be like a false alarm. Maybe we should go and check to see what's up."

The Gems agreed with him. "Yondu is right, let's head back home with the Warp Pad." Garnet declared. "I got a better idea," Rocket suggested. "how about we take the Milano for a spin?"

"Alright, we're ridin' in a spaceship again!" Amethyst shouted excitedly as she rushed onboard the ship. "I call captain's seat!" Peridot added following suit.

"Okay, to Beach City we go!" Peter declared as they all got onboard the Milano. "Whoa, this is so cool!" Steven marveled at the spacecraft's interior as the Guardians took their places on the bridge. "Now this is a technological marvel, where did you get this?" Pearl added. "Oh it was just another M-ship used by the Ravagers that I gave Quill." Yondu replied. "Now then, are we takin' off or not?"

"We're taking off soon, just gotta make a few adjustments." Star-Lord replied pressing a few buttons. "Alright, we're good to go!" As soon as he pushed another button, the Milano finally took off toward Beach City.

* * *

Touching down in front of the beach house, the Guardians and the Crystal Gems exited the vessel to find Connie hiding near the door. "Hi Connie!" Steven cheerfully greeted, only to be shushed by his best friend. "Be quiet, your house is being invaded by whatever these guys are!" The two peeked in the window to find Titus and Holly Blue Agate searching the entire house.

"Hey, I know the blue one, but who's the big cat?" Amethyst wondered. "That's Titus, a former member of the Nova Corps that's out for our blood because we made him lose his job." Rocket answered joining in on their spying. "And what's that Agate doing on Earth?" Peridot added. "I have no idea, but it must mean something's up." Star-Lord said preparing to attack. "On my count, one, two, THREE!"

Everybody barged in through the door preparing for battle as they faced the malicious duo, who turned around to notice the intruders. "YOU!" they both shouted. "Alright catman, leave here or pay the price!" Garnet ordered. "Stop right there," Holly Blue said. "I have something to explain."

* * *

Thanks for being so patient everyone, this one took a while! Plus I'm pretty sure people are going to ship Star-Lord/Lapis and Yondu/Pearl after this. Stay tuned for chapter 5, coming soon!


	5. Fooled Around & Became Stronger than You

**Clod on the Run**

 **Chapter 5: Fooled Around and Became Stronger than You**

* * *

Last time, we saw the Guardians of the Galaxy experience fusion for the first time & got their ship rebuilt with help from Steven and the Crystal Gems. Now they return to Beach City where they confront old enemies of both groups.

"I have something to explain." Holly Blue Agate said as she and Titus face both heroes. "I have recently decided that working for Blue Diamond was getting quite boring so I thought it was time to move to Earth and join you rebels!" she stated with a smile on her face. "What are you saying?" Titus whispered to her. "Quiet you, I have a plan." she replied.

"You, join us?" Pearl inquired. "We've seen how badly you treat others." Rocket then shushed her. "Zip it Pearl, I wanna see if she's lying." he said. "Maybe she's not lying." Steven replied. "Maybe she really does want to join us."

"Steven, are you crazy? She makes life a living nightmare for all the Quartzes back at the Zoo." Amethyst scolded the hybrid. "Oh water under the bridge Amethyst!" Holly Blue exclaimed. "It's not my fault they're so bad at their jobs, they're just naturally incompetent!"

Everyone was still unsure. "C'mon guys, everyone deserves a second chance." Steven claimed as he began walking to the two.

"Try tellin' that to Bismuth kid." Yondu quipped, which caused everyone to stare at him in confusion. "What, Garnet told me on the way here!"

As Steven stepped forward and extended his hand to Holly Blue as a sign of friendship, he was suddenly grabbed by Titus. "Ha, did you really think I would join you?" she laughed arrogantly. "Yes, we came here to capture all of your friends." Titus added. "If you don't comply with our demands, then they will have to pay the price." He whipped out a tuning fork-like weapon with a yellow oval object held at the tips and pointed it at the Gems. "Now which one shall it be?"

Everybody quivered as they all feared the worst. If they weren't smart enough, they would all die right then and there. Steven had to make a choice between protecting his friends or watching them all be eliminated, but in the end he decided to do it for them.

"Alright, you got me." he said in defeat. "Very good choice young man." Titus replied setting him down. "Now what shall we do? Maybe help me restore my honor by turning in those filthy criminals, grant me a Gem soldier of my very own." He tried to continue on about his deal before being interrupted by Holly Blue. "Don't forget I'm part of this as well." she proclaimed.

"Well, we do keep corrupted Gems in the Burning Room." Steven responded much to everyone's shock, especially the Gems. "Are you crazy Steven?!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Who knows what kind of havoc he'd wreak with one of them by his side!" Pearl added.

"I'd rather be shattered than have those running around." Garnet bluntly said. "I'm sorry guys, I'm doing it for you!" Steven exclaimed with tears in his eyes as he led Titus and Holly Blue away before turning to the others with a solemn "I'm sorry."

He pulled up his shirt to reveal his Gem and the pink circle on the temple door glowed as it opened. "Steven, wait!" Star-Lord cried out as he held Peridot in a choke hold. "This is partially my fault as well so I'm coming with." he said.

"Let go of me Quill!" Peridot exclaimed.

As everybody walked through the door, they found themselves in a dimension that was nothing but pink clouds all around. "This is my mom's room, where you say anything and it can create it." Steven explained. "Anything?!" Peter exclaimed in awe. "Hey room, think you can be a pal and make something to kick these two out?" But nothing happened.

"I've had enough of your insolence Star-Lord." Titus coldly stated before turning to Steven. "Boy, take us to this burning room immediately!" he ordered. The son of Rose complied as he asked the room to lead them to the Burning Room. They all faded from Rose's room and suddenly re-materialized in another room that was filled with bubbled gems littering the ceiling.

"So you harvest Gems? You're even worse than I thought!" Holly Blue exclaimed in disgust looking at the various bubbles. "Wait, you do what?" Peter wondered, but Steven still didn't listen. "Just pick whatever one you want." he said to Titus.

"Very well then child." the former Supernova thanked as he examined the ceiling until one caught his eye. "I think I'll take the orange one with those hints of green." he finally stated pointing to that specific gemstone, which Peridot recognized all too well.

"Oh no, are you serious Steven?!" the traitorous Homeworld Gem cried as her Earth friend handed the bubble to Titus. "I'm sorry Peridot." Titus popped the bubble with his claws and the gem began to take form, growing into a giant monster with a flowing white mane, various spikes across its body and it's gem on its face where a human nose would be.

"I-it's JASPER!" Peridot screamed as the beast roared at the top of her lungs, popping a few more bubbles in the process and releasing more corrupted Gems. Everybody just stood there in shock except for Titus, who was utterly gleeful at this sight.

* * *

"What is even going on in there?" Gamora wondered as the others waited in the beach house.

"I don't know Gamora, but we should be on our guard in case something happens." Garnet ordered as the Guardians and Gems prepared for battle. Just then, an orange beast burst from the door and roared at the top of its lungs before curling up into a ball and charging towards the front door.

"I-is that..." Lapis stuttered before Rocket jumped at her and they all got out of the monster's way.

When they all got up, they found Steven, Star-Lord, Peridot, Titus and Holly Blue walking out of the remains of the Burning Room as Connie ran up and hugged her friend. "Ohmigosh Steven, you're all right!" she weeped as she let go. "We were all so worried for you." Pearl added with a few tears welling up.

"What happened in there?" Drax wondered examining the destruction left behind by the orange creature. "That must've been Jasper, I'd know that roll from anywhere." Amethyst replied.

"Thank you for your time everyone," the Agate declared before she began to walk outside. "that boy you have there was a great help for us." It wasn't long before Titus followed behind her. "Yes, that Jasper and all those corrupted Gems that were released can prove to be a worthy army." he added. "And now we shall bid you goodbye."

As the duo walked away, the heroes were left staring out into the open shocked at what happened. "Steven, did they say you gave them Jasper?" Garnet demanded.

"I'm sorry guys, I just wanted to keep you safe!" the boy cried. "Keep us safe?" Rocket said with a hint of venom in the tone of his voice. "KEEP US SAFE?! What you just did there was release what was once an incredibly powerful high-ranking Gem Homeworld soldier and hand them to two maniacs that want both of us dead!"

"Rocket, calm down!" Yondu exclaimed. "No, let me finish blue man!" Rocket snarled. "I've met dozens of people like you back in my days as a mercenary that seemed all friendly and welcoming only to stab me in the back! And don't give me that 'it's Steven, he's such a nice guy!' excuse either girls, sometimes being nice can bite you hard in the ass."

"Rocky..." Steven said. "Don't call me Rocky squirt." the raccoon snapped one last time. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm taking the Milano outta here." As he began walking out of the beach house, he noticed the ship turned upside down on the sand. "OH COME ON!"

"What do we do now guys?" Peridot asked. "Now, we fight." Star-Lord declared. "Listen, I know we may have started out trying to kill each other and we spent not that much time together, but two jerks and a couple of giant monsters are tearing this place up and we're the only ones that can stop them. Now who's with me?"

He stuck his hand to the others. "See, it's kind of like in the old Ocean's Eleven with Frank Sinatra where the crew put their hands together."

"We all might die here, but we will die as comrades. Count me in." Garnet said stacking her hand on Quill's.

"And me too." Drax added as he did the same.

"Don't forget about me!" Peridot exclaimed struggling to enter the stack until the three of them lowered themselves to her height. "Thanks guys."

Then Yondu joined in. "Say Garnet, you still up for a candlelight dinner?" the Ravager asked the fusion. "No." she bluntly replied before Amethyst stuck her hand in and Gamora as well. "Anything to kick that judgmental Agate's ass!" the little quartz exclaimed.

"We are Groot." Groot said putting his hand in as well.

"I'm in too." Connie stated standing next to the giant tree. "Well Rocket?" Peter said to the gun-toting animal, who was moping on the front porch. "Oh fine, I ain't got that long a lifespan anyway." Rocket groaned as he got up and put his paw in. Lion soon followed, along with Steven and Lapis.

"We're in as well!" Steven boldly stated, which Lapis replied by nodding with a confidant grin.

"Alright everyone, let's kick this up a notch and save the world!" Peter shouted as they all charged into battle.

* * *

"Isn't it beautiful to see so much wretched organic weaklings run away in fear as these corrupted Gems are about to kill them?" Holly Blue asked Titus as they overlooked the chaos in Beach City. "Indeed my friend, so many lower beings at death's doorstep and those accursed Guardians will be to blame." he replied.

"That's what you think Titus!" a voice cried out. When the two turned around, they found the two groups standing behind them and not one was very happy.

"Leave this planet alone immediately!" Pearl ordered pointing her spear at Holly Blue. "Yeah, get outta town jackass!" Rocket added firing his ion cannon at Holly Blue, who deflected the blast with her whip.

"How did you even learn about the corrupted Gems anyway?" Star-Lord questioned as he came face to face with the disposed Nova Corpsman. "Why it's simple fool," Titus replied smugly. "during our journey to this planet, we came across an ancient Moon base formerly owned by Pink Diamond that contained important information on her colonization of Earth, such as kindergartens, the Cluster, various Gem structures and of course, corruption."

"Wait, there was information about corruption in there?" Garnet wondered before turning to Peridot, in which all the little green Gem could say was "What are you looking at me for?"

As the fight continued, the wild corrupted Gems were brought forth by Holly Blue to give them an advantage. "Alright, I have a plan. Pearl and I will try to get all the townspeople outta here, Lapis, Groot, Peridot, Drax and Amethyst will handle these monsters and finally Quill, Steven, Connie, Gamora, Yondu, Lion and Garnet will finish off these maniacs." Rocket explained his new strategy. "

Very good plan Rocket, but I have one question." Peridot asked. "May I take one of your weapons for a spin?"

"Don't mind if I do!" the raccoon complied as he handed the Gem one of his bazookas. "Sweet, this is just like my old limb enhancers!" she cheered as she raced off with her group, laughing like a madman as she fired into the air. Rocket and Pearl ran to town to help the citizens while Star-Lord, Steven, Connie, Gamora, Garnet, Yondu and Lion stood their ground against the villainous duo.

"Now we settle this." Peter declared loading his laser pistols. "Bring it criminal." Titus replied preparing to fire his cannon arm while Holly Blue summoned her whip and the two groups charged at each other.

* * *

On the beach, Lapis, Groot, Peridot, Drax and Amethyst were taking down corrupted Gems left and right. "So how many are we counting here?" Drax asked. "I don't know, probably six or seven." Peridot replied tossing a trash can lid at one. "Yo guys, help me out with this slinker!" Amethyst exclaimed wrestling a plant-like Gem monster. "Seriously, how come we can never keep it down?!"

"I am Groot!" Groot said pushing the small Quartz off of the slinker and picking up before tossing it around like a ragdoll until it poofed. "I am Groot." he proudly declared standing over the monster's gemstone. "Good one Groot!" Peridot thanked him before bubbling the Gem and sending it away. Suddenly, they all turned to see that same Jasper that broke out of the burning room roaring loudly.

"Isn't that the Jasper I've heard about from Rocket?" Drax wondered as Lapis and Amethyst stared at it in horror. "Y-you bet it is." Amethyst stuttered.

"Stand aside everyone, let me handle this!" the destroyer announced charging at Jasper. "You may be a mighty Quartz, but I AM THE DESTROYER!" he howled preparing to strike, only to land in its mouth, being shaken like a dog toy and spat out. "Not my boldest achievement, but at least I tried." Drax said weakly.

"Rocket was right, you are a little bit of both." Amethyst huffed before turning to Lapis. "Since Drax is out for a bit, what do you say about us taking on Jasper together?" she offered to the terraformer. "A-alright then." Lapis replied before they both turned to Jasper. "Alright Lap, here's the plan. I hold her down with my whips while you soak her and then Peridot delivers the final blow!" Amethyst explained her plan.

"Wait, since when was I involved in this?" Peridot cried. "You might as well bring in Groot too!"

"I am Groot." Groot added stretching his arm around Jasper's leg while Amethyst pulled a pair of whips from her gem and held down the rest of her body. "NOW!" she cried before Lapis raised her arm to summon a tidal wave which soaked both Jasper and Drax.

"What just happened?" he wondered looking around before noticing the rest of his group tangling with the corrupted Gem. "Now is my chance for revenge!" He charged at Jasper again clinging onto her face. "I can't believe it, I'm actually winning!"

"Now P-Dot!" Amethyst called. "But I don't have any metal to throw!" Peridot answered. Just then, Groot lost his grip as one of his arms was torn off by Jasper and tossed near the former Kindergartener. "Well, what a coincidence." she said. Lifting it up as much as her small body can take it, she threw it at the Quartz gem greatly weakening it. "It didn't do anything!" Lapis exclaimed.

"Then allow me." Drax declared whipping out one of his knives. "SCREW YOU ORANGE WOMAN!" He repeatedly stabbed at the orange gemstone at rapid fire speeds with all his might until it finally poofed. "Wow, we finally did it!" Peridot cheered before she noticed Groot holding his severed arm. "Are you going to be alright?" she asked the plant alien. "I am Groot." he answered reattaching his wooden limb.

"That felt good, doesn't it?" Amethyst said reveling in their victory as she bubbled Jasper. "Yeah, it actually did." Lapis replied nervously. "We make a pretty good team don't we?" she asked the shorter Gem. "Yeah we do!"

"Yes, three cheers for the mighty Drax and his companions!" Drax exclaimed raising his fists in joy. "Anyone?" Just then they all turned to notice Rocket in the sky with Pearl on his back. "Wonder how they're doing?" Amethyst wondered.

* * *

"We sure are high up Rocket." Pearl said as she and Rocket hovered over Beach City, watching the citizens try to find ways to hide from the monsters. "Thank you Captain Obvious for your wise words." Rocket snarkily replied. "Listen, I have a plan to get their attention." He gently touched down on top of a building and fired another one of his weapons.

"ATTENTION PEOPLE!" he exclaimed, which caught their attention. "Is that a talking raccoon?" a short old woman in the crowd wondered. "Okay first off, I am not whatever you just said." Rocket said. "Second, my friend and I are here to help you evacuate!"

"We just need you to leave in an orderly fashion without attracting any attention." Pearl followed up. "That's right!" a man boldly interrupted, and from the looks of it, he appeared to be an important figure. "Oh, hello Mayor Dewey." she groaned. "Hey Pearl, long time no see, how's it going?" Dewey asked trying to make his move on her. "Friend of yours?" Rocket asked with a cheeky grin, which earned him an angry glare from his taller partner.

"So anyway, as mayor of Beach City I shall accept ideas on where we should hide." the mayor announced. Just then, all the townspeople started clamoring, with ideas like migrating to another town or another planet entirely. "Why don't we all just hide at the U-Stor place?" a voice spoke out, which turned out to be Greg. "Hey, aren't you Steven's old man?" Rocket asked pointing at him. "Quill told me he's a big fan of yours."

"You bet I am!" Greg replied. "Now like I said, why don't we all hide at the U-Stor place?" All of the other people quickly agreed with him.

"Well what you waitin' for everyone, get outta here!" Rocket ordered as they all began to move away. "Thank you for the help small furry visitor, we really appreciate it." Mayor Dewey thanked Rocket as he joined the crowd. "Who you callin' furry visitor, bub?!" the mercenary exclaimed.

"Well that was pretty easy." Pearl said before a large shadow appeared over her. "Now we just need to help out Peter and the others with...uh Rocket, is something wrong?" Rocket replied by pointing at the source of the shadow, which was actually a green and pink pufferfish-like creature.

"WHAT EVEN IS THAT?!" he screamed pulling out another blaster. "It's another corrupted Gem, and it looks like it's aiming for us!" Pearl exclaimed before she summoned her spear. "Hopefully my spear can keep it down!"

She tossed it at the pufferfish as hard as she could but it failed as the creature knocked it back at her. "Well that did nothing, allow me!" Rocket said preparing to open fire, but he then realized that he was out of ammo. "Dammit, must've ran out when we tried to get the people's attention." he added turning to Pearl.

"Well beaky, been a fun ride." As he hugged her leg accepting their fate, suddenly the creature's attack was deflected by a large pink shield. "Steven?!"

"Oh thank you for saving us!" Pearl cried as she ran up and hugged the child. "But wait, why are you here? We didn't see you coming!" she wondered. "The others were getting their butts kicked and Yondu told me to come find you guys." Steven said. "Aw great, as if Quill couldn't screw up enough." Rocket facepalmed. "But how are we gonna beat this beast?"

"Last time we faced that pufferfish creature, it was poofed by something very sharp." Pearl explained. "Hm, something sharp." Rocket said to himself looking around the area. "Something sharp." When he laid eyes upon the Gem's discarded weapon, he got an idea. "I think I have a plan, one of your hoist me into the air so that I can stab that thing and end this once and for all!" he explained.

"That sounds so crazy it just might work!" Steven cheerfully replied. "Don't get your hopes up kid, it might fail and I'm still testy over what started all of this. Now someone toss me!"

Steven was the one to let the raccoon stand on his hands as he bravely held the spear. "HEY UGLY!" he shouted to the monster. "TRY SOME OF THIS FOR SIZE!" Steven threw his hands up as Rocket soared through the air before turning his jetpack on. Screaming as loudly as he can, he stabbed the creature, going right through it before the monster poofed from behind. Touching down on the ground and triumphantly holding the weapon aloft, it was as if a holy light shined down on him.

"Woo, great job there!" Steven applauded picking up the gem and bubbling it. Rocket just sighed. "Thanks kid. Y'know I'm kinda sorry about getting all fired up about you setting all those monsters free. It's just that like I've said, I've met dozens of people over the years who seemed all hunky-dory before backstabbing me but you, you aren't anything like them. You may have made some bad choices in the past, but that doesn't stop you from being one of the nicest guys I've met."

Steven was brought to tears by Rocket's speech and hugged him as tight as he could. "I'm sorry too Rocket." he said. "Okay, you can stop hugging me now." Rocket replied before grumbling and half-heartedly accepting the hug only for Pearl to join them.

"Hey Bert Raccoon, come in!" Peter exclaimed out of nowhere, interrupting the heartfelt moment. "Hold on a sec guys, come in Quill." Rocket said speaking into an earpiece. "Yeah, we're getting wrecked by those guys out here. Listen, I need you, Pearl and Steven to find Drax's group and help us out!" the former Ravager stated. "Hurry, I don't know how long we're gonna last!" Then the connection finally fizzled out.

"Well what do you say Steven, wanna go save the planet?" Rocket offered his half-human companion. "You bet I do!" he replied giving a thumbs up. "Great, now where are they?" Pearl asked. "I think I can see them up there near that lighthouse." Steven said pointing to the others' location. They could barely make out Star-Lord being grabbed in the neck by Titus and a strange puff of smoke. "That smoke must be Garnet, we gotta hurry!"

* * *

"Don't you see Ravager, your accomplices have lost and soon you will all be under arrest!" Titus arrogantly declared while grabbing Peter by the neck. Connie was helping Gamora get up, Yondu was up & knocked out, Holly Blue Agate defused Garnet back into Ruby & Sapphire and Lion was just sitting around.

"Don't think you're so lucky now kitty cat, cause I've got backup!" Peter replied before Titus was hit in the back by Amethyst's whip. Turning around, the former Nova Corpsman saw the other heroes behind him. "Put Peter down or I swear you'll pay!" Peridot exclaimed aiming the firearm that Rocket gave her. "Oh good, all of you again." Holly Blue groaned. "Well don't think you can win now because we still have those corrupted-"

"Actually, we took care of those." Amethyst interrupted smugly holding Jasper's bubbled gem. "Well that's just peachy." the manager groaned again. "Do not worry my partner. If it's a fight they want, then a fight they'll get." the snow leopard alien assured as he pushed a few buttons on his cybernetic arm. Just then, a large portal appeared over the ocean with dozens of grey-skinned aliens on flying vehicles followed by whale-like beasts behind them.

"What are those?" Steven cried hiding behind Pearl. "Those are the Chitauri, a race of cybernetically enhanced invaders with only one goal in mind: destruction." Gamora explained. "There might be too many of them for us to take on." Sapphire stated. "I guess that means we might need Alexandrite." Ruby added.

"Finally!" Amethyst cheered as she and Pearl took their places while Ruby & Sapphire did a quick dance to fuse back into Garnet. Then they all danced at once and created Alexandrite. "All of you can take care of them, the Chitauri are mine!" she said jumping into the air with Sardonyx's war hammer in hand. "Well you heard the giant, let us rumble!" Drax shouted charging at Titus only to get blasted back. "It ends here Holly Blue!" Star-Lord declared as they all prepared for the final showdown.

* * *

"Director Fury, sir!" a man in a suit called to another man wearing all black and an eyepatch. "We received intel from one of our agents stationed in Beach City that there's an alien invasion taking place!" he explained to his superior.

"Another alien invasion?" the agent's superior said. "That's right, Agent Lee went undercover as a tourist only to be discovered by a strange tree-like creature at that town's donut shop. Later on, he was escorted by a talking raccoon and a tall white-skinned female along with the rest of the townsfolk to a storage facility during said alien invasion. Our spy drones have also picked up a pink giant swatting at Chitauri forces before the drone was destroyed."

As Fury examined the gathered footage, he noticed a pair of stars on the giant's knees which he immediately recognized. "The Homeworld rebels are still alive?!" he gasped. "Wait, what was that about rebels Director?" the agent wondered. "Never mind that Agent Kirby, I just need you to call in a strike force to take care of it." Fury ordered. "And what happens if all else fails?" Kirby asked.

"Assemble the Avengers."

* * *

"Are we rolling?" a news reporter asked his cameraman outside of town. "Yep, go time." the cameraman replied. "Good. This is Lawrence Abrams reporting live from Beach City where an alien invasion is currently taking place that its local defenders the Crystal Gems, and some other weirdos, are trying to repel." the reporter announced. As he spoke, Alexandrite swat at Chitauri left & right knocking them into the ocean as the rest of the heroes duked it out with Titus and Holly Blue.

"Give it up, we are far more skilled than you will ever be!" Holly Blue shouted as she electrocuted Groot with her whip. "Yeah, well we have some raccoon thing that'll roast your butt!" Amethyst responded whipping back.

"Putting an end to your plans will be like eating a piece of cake." Drax added. "Wait, what did he just say?" Titus asked raising an eyebrow. "He meant to say that beating you will be a piece of cake." Peter explained. "Since when was cake involved?" the cyborg answered back. "Can we get back to kicking butt already, this cake talk is making me hungry." Steven said.

They immediately started tussling again when suddenly a large aircraft hovered over Beach City with a fighter jet descending from it. When the jet landed, out came numerous armored soldiers bearing highly advanced weapons. "Strike Team Beta, move out!" the soldiers' leader ordered as they fired at the Chitauri. "What are these people doing here?" Pearl wondered. "Do not be alarmed m'am, we are here to help." one of the armored men announced before he was shot down by a Chitauri soldier. "Man down, man down!"

"Don't worry sir, I got this!" Steven exclaimed rushing to the man's side and spitting on his wound, healing it. "Thanks kid, you saved my life." the soldier thanked. "Wait, did you just spit on me?" he asked. "Healing spit." Steven replied. "Healing wounds through saliva. Director Fury might like this." the soldier said getting up and continuing to attack.

"Helping that guy was great and all, but can you get back to helping us out?" Yondu said before Titus punched him in the face knocking him back while a strange object fell out of his coat. "Wait a minute, what is this?" Lapis wondered picking it up. Examining it, she saw what looked like a tracking beacon with a sun-like symbol on it. "Hey Yondu, is this yours?" she asked the Centaurian, who laid eyes upon it in shock. "Oh no, they're coming for me!" he shouted. "Who's coming for you?"

Suddenly another ship that looked more regal in design appeared out of nowhere, shooting at Alexandrite and causing them to defuse before hovering above the beach. A small disc dropped down from the craft, upon it standing a man that looked very much like Star-Lord except he looked like royalty. "Hello there Peter." the man greeted the space cowboy. "Ugh. Hello dad." Peter replied, much to the shock of pretty much everyone.

* * *

"Wait, you're his dad?" Steven exclaimed in confusion. "You actually do seem pretty similar." he added. "One is an evil monarch that wants us dead!" Rocket replied.

"Yes Rocket, thank you for your analogy." Peter's father replied. "I am J'son, ruler of the Spartoi Empire and I come here for the Ravager with you." he declared pointing at Yondu. "Look pal, I may have stolen something important to your people but that doesn't mean you have the right to try and kill me!" Yondu said. "Silence fool, or else you and your Guardian friends will be executed when I take you back to Spartax!" J'son threatened.

"Yo, what just happened?" Amethyst wondered getting up from being defused. "And why is there two Star-Lords?" Pearl added. "Oh yeah, he's my dad." Peter answered. "Whoa, what a twist." Garnet stoically remarked.

"Excuse me Your Grace, but we called dibs on them first!" Holly Blue said. "Yes, we have come to Earth to complete what these criminals failed to do: capture a traitorous Peridot." Titus added. J'son didn't pay any attention to them as he shoved both of them to the side to confront his son.

"Been quite a while since we last saw each other 'kiddo'?" he said to Peter. "Don't call me stuff that a real father would say to their son!" Star-Lord snapped back. "Oh, am I not the family you dreamed of?" the king of Spartax responded before Yondu shot him in the back with his arrow. "You may be his father, but you sure as hell ain't his daddy you jackass!"

The fight restarted, now with J'son involved. Star-Lord, Steven, Connie, Gamora & Yondu took on the king, Rocket, Groot, Lapis, Peridot & Amethyst fought Holly Blue and finally Garnet, Pearl, Lion & Drax battled Titus. "He has the same weapon as you Peter!" Connie exclaimed blocking a shot from J'son's energy gun. "And it seems it's themed around the four elements." she added. "Indeed little one, this weapon can only be wielded by those of the royal bloodline." J'son explained. "Like so." He pointed his element gun and fired a blast of lightning at his son, shocking him. "It can also produce lightning."

"Good one there!" Titus exclaimed while blocking a punch from Garnet. "You know, we could really use something helpful here!" Star-Lord said getting up. "Yeah, I just want to beat these two right now!" Peridot added. "I have an idea, why don't Connie and I bring back Stevonnie?" Steven suggested. "Wait, who is this Stevonnie?" Holly Blue asked. "You'll see." Connie said before she and Steven broke into a dance and formed the half-Gem half-human swordfighter.

"A human and a Gem?! Impossible!" the disposed Supernova stared in disbelief of the being before him. "Let's dance." they declared unsheathing their sword and dashing at him, creating a large cut in his armor with Rose's sword.

"But you're just two children standing on top of each other! HOW?!" Titus was still shocked over how strong Stevonnie was compared to him. "Because we're made of love that's stronger than you." they responded striking some more, this time chipping away at his mechanical arm. "I need more power!" he shouted. "Well maybe you should've picked a better cybernetic limb!" Holly Blue responded, which made Titus turn to her with a devilish grin on his face. "Or maybe I need to make some modifications." he boomed grabbing the Agate's whip.

"What are you doing?!" she screamed in horror over what her partner was doing. "I'm just upgrading." he replied tying the electric whip around her neck and strangling her with it as everyone else, even J'son, watched in horror. "I thought we were comrades!" she gagged as she tried to reach out for Steven to save her. "Please...help...me!" Those were the final words she could muster before being poofed entirely.

"Excellent." Titus beamed examining the finely cut teardrop-shaped gem before inserting it into his mechanical appendage, glowing with Gem power. "Oh my stars, she just up and killed her!" Amethyst exclaimed. "She may have been a jerk, but Titus is an even bigger jerk!"

"That I agree with small purple creature!" J'son responded boldly. "Now I may be a tyrant, but harming those you have called your friends is where I cross the line!" he declared about to fire his element gun. "Which is why I won't need you anymore either." Titus said firing a bolt of electricity at the Spartaxian royal's weapon, making it explode and scarring him with all four elements.

"That should lighten the load." the mad space cop said to himself before turning to his Chitauri army. "My Chitauri fleet, heed my words!" he announced. "I command you to search this Earth settlement for its inhabitants and rip them apart like the dogs you are!" The cyborg aliens obeyed as they crashed their vehicles onto the sand and charged toward Beach City. "Oh no, they're going to hurt all our friends!" Stevonnie cried. "And I have another plan to stop them!" Star-Lord added. "Garnet, Yondu, Lapis, Drax, Amethyst and Gamora will go and stop those Chitauri while the rest of us beat Titus."

"That sounds crazy enough to work." Yondu said. "All right everybody, move out!" His group moved out after the Chitauri squadron while Stevonnie mounted on Lion, preparing to fight. "And now, for real, we settle this!" they exclaimed while Lion charged at the other cat creature. The Supernova fired another shock blast at them, but it was deflected by Steven's shield. They threw the shield at Titus' face, making him lose focus on his aim and fired at a bit of the temple statue.

* * *

Meanwhile downtown, Garnet, Yondu, Lapis, Drax, Amethyst and Gamora were in hot pursuit of the small group of Chitauri that were headed for the U-Stor. "If we don't hurry up, those people are surely screwed!" Yondu shouted as he fired his arrow at one of them. "Yeah, let's pick up the pace!" Amethyst responded spin-dashing into another few. "They might bring in reinforcements, so I suggest we up our game here." Garnet suggested. "Amethyst, we need Sugillite."

"Sweet!" the purple Gem exclaimed before they danced and formed the brutish fusion. "Hey uglies, you want a piece of me?!" she howled as she swung her flail to the ground knocking them off their feet. Two of them started snarling at each other, presumably giving orders, and they sent in one of the giant whales carrying more. "Damned Leviathans!" Yondu shouted as they started dropping down in front of them. "Hey Lazuli, wanna kick these boys' asses with me?" he offered the ocean Gem.

"You bet I want to!" she complied before launching geysers at the Chitauri while Yondu patiently stood in front of a platoon waiting to attack him.

The aliens roared aiming their guns at him but he still didn't budge. That is until he started whistling, summoning his Yaka arrow to his side. He continued whistling, making it zoom around and stab them all. Then he directed his attention to the Leviathan.

"Think you could lift me up there?" he asked Lapis. "You got it!" she replied grabbing him by the shoulders and chucking him to the carrier's head. He whistled some more which made his arrow zoom around some more, creating various holes in the Leviathan and causing it to malfunction.

He jumped back down to Earth before it began to explode. Thankfully Lapis was able to contain it by trapping it in a water bubble before tossing it into the air and exploding. The two fist-bumped while the others watched in awe. "They're just like the explosions I saw in my childhood, only there was less remains of our enemies." Drax said. "Please don't talk about your childhood right now Drax." Gamora groaned.

Just then, a Chitauri soldier weakly rose from the pavement and charged at the U-Stor door, attempting to break it down. "That one is going for the door, we have to stop it!" Yondu exclaimed. "Step aside everyone, let me handle it." Sugillite boasted stretching her arms. She looked down on the lone invader and prepared to attack, only for the alien to blast her in the face with its rifle.

"These alien weapons are seriously beyond our comprehension." Garnet stated as Sugillite disappeared leaving only her and Amethyst. The Chitauri continued bashing at the garage door with its firearm before it was shot at by an unknown assailant. They all turned around to find an old man in sunglasses pointing an average handgun at the creature. "You leave these townsfolk alone you alien menace!"

He fired at the Chitauri some more and actually managed to injure it, but it fought back by blasting its gun at him, also injuring him. "Do you need any help mister?!" Garnet cried rushing to his side. "No thank you, I'm fine m'am." the old man said getting up and walking back inside the garage before firing one last shot at the Chitauri, ultimately killing it. "Remember, you always save the day! If you think you can't, you'll always find a way! The people of the world believe in you, so fight on Crystal Gems! Excelsior!"

"Well that was a bit anticlimatic." Lapis stated when the man closed the door. "Yeah I mean, what does 'Excelsior' mean?" Gamora replied. "That isn't important right now, we have to go back and help the others." Garnet ordered before they all raced back to the beach.

* * *

Speaking of the others, Stevonnie, Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket, Lion, Pearl and Peridot continued squaring off against Titus. Rocket & Peridot had repurposed J'son's destroyed element gun and hit him with a large amount of fire while Star-Lord, Groot, Pearl and Stevonnie fought with all of their might.

"Give it up fools, I am far more experienced than you will ever be!" he boasted blasting some more volts at the heroes. "Yeah well, you fight like a cow!" Stevonnie shouted back continuing to damage his cannon limb. "But he's not a cow, he's some tiger thing." Pearl remarked, clearly confused over what they just said. "It's supposed to like, insult the opponent Pearl. Haven't you tried something like that before?" Rocket replied. "Why certainly not!"

"Yo, you guys need a lift here?" Yondu called as the rest of his group appeared behind him. "What, I thought those Chitauri I sent after the humans would've killed you!" Titus exclaimed in sheer disbelief at the sight before him. "Well you thought wrong." Lapis confidently responded high-fiving Yondu. This made Titus very angry as he roared and charged at them like a predator about to slaughter his prey before Garnet punched him in the face, heavily damaging his cybernetic eye.

"That is it!" he finally exploded in rage. "I have had enough of all of you! Forget putting you under arrest, PREPARE TO DIE!" He pounced at his opponents again about to fire his arm cannon, actually knocking a few of them down this time. "Now I will show you the full wrath of a Nova Corpsman!" He signaled the remaining Chitauri to his side and ordered them to attack the heroes. "My minions, slaughter them all!"

The Crystal Gems and the Guardians tried their hardest to fight them off and defeat Titus once and for all, but all started to seem lost. "There's too many of them!" Peridot screamed firing the gun that Rocket gave her at them, only to run out of ammo. "Did you bring any ammo Rocket?" she asked the raccoon-esque creature. "I did, but I think they were lost when we first crashed here." Rocket replied before a Chitauri grabbed him by the arms. "Hey, let me go!"

"I am Groot!" Groot cried for his friend before dozens more began dog-piling him. "Don't worry Groot, I'm coming!" Garnet exclaimed charging at the aliens to rescue the Flora colossus, only to fall herself.

"My friends, it has been an honor protecting Earth with you." Amethyst declared with a surprisingly solemn look on her face as she turned into a violin and jumped into Pearl's arms. "Well what're you waitin' for P, pick up the bow and play something!" she shouted. "Are you serious right now Amethyst?" Pearl frowned tossing the purple violin back on the ground before she got shot at by another Chitauri. "Quit it you!" she exclaimed stabbing the extraterrestrial with her spear.

"We're surrounded!" Lapis cried as she, Gamora, Drax and Yondu were, of course, surrounded by Chitauri. "Can't you just wash them away with your water powers?" Drax responded. "That is a good idea, but more will keep coming!" Gamora answered. "Might as well keep fighting til we stop breathing!" Yondu shouted running into battle with one of the Chitauri. "Yondu no!" Lapis shouted as he was knocked out cold.

"You see my friends, your time has come to die!" Titus announced towering over the fallen heroes. "You can call yourselves heroes all you want, but in my eyes you are all filthy rats! Especially you so called Guardians!" Out of all of them, Star-Lord, Stevonnie and Lion were the last ones facing him.

"You won't win Titus, we will beat you!" the fusion exclaimed stabbing the former space cop right in his chest, but he didn't feel much pain. "Are you done yet?" he asked without any sort of emotion in his voice while ripping the sword out of his body. "Now then, any last words before I obliterate you?"

"Yes, yes I do." Peter chimed before breaking into a dance routine while singing a song. "If you're evil and you're on the rise, you can count on the twelve of us taking you down!" he sang. "Cause we're a little bit of both and evil is too stupid to beat us, we'll win the fight and go out for pizza!"

Titus was utterly flabbergasted by what he was seeing before him. "What are you doing?!" he shouted. "Dance off bro, me and you!" the half-human answered. "We're the Crystal Gems and the Guardians, we'll always save the day! C'mon, someone dance with me!" Nobody felt like joining him in his dance except Stevonnie. "You Stevonnie? Okay!" They continued singing. "And if you think we can't, we'll always find a way!"

"That's why the people of this world, believe in!" they harmonized together. "The Guardians of the Galaxy, the Crystal Gems...AND STEVEN!" Suddenly they started glowing and merged together into a new being, which was a mix of Stevonnie's body & clothes with Star-Lord's hair color, jacket, boots and helmet. "Whoa, what just happened?" they said before realizing what just happened. "Wait, did we fuse?!"

"Wow, two half-humans and a full human fusing? That's awesome!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Fusion or not, you are still nothing!" Titus shouted prepared to fire from his cannon, but the new fusion retaliated by firing a laser blast from the blade. "Awesome, a laser sword!" they beamed in pure excitement before turning to their friends and annihilating all the Chitauri. When they all got up, they were utterly astonished at the sight before them.

"Is that you in there Petey?" Yondu asked them. "Of course it's me Yondu, I'm like thirty percent Star-Lord!" they replied. "Maybe we should come up with a new name for this like Stevoter or Pevonnie." Garnet suggested with a wide grin on her face. "I think Stevoter sounds pretty cool." the Gem-human-Spartaxian fusion, now named Stevoter, said. "But right now, we got bigger fish to fry."

They all glared at Titus, who was now growing more insane as the battle went on and was at his breaking point. "JOKE ALL YOU WANT SCUM, BUT I WILL PUT AN END TO YOU AND REGAIN MY HONOR!" he screamed at the top of his lungs before launching a giant volt of electricity at the group. Stevoter quickly deflected it by summoning a shield that looked very much like a Walkman and the attack was returned in the form of "The Chain."

"Aagh, stop it already!" the villain shouted covering his ears. "Oh we'll stop if you leave this planet alone!" Stevoter declared. "Alright a-holes, let's end this!" they rallied both the Gems and the Guardians together to finish Titus once and for all.

Garnet and Gamora dealt the first blow, punching him in the face and stabbing him in his cybernetic eye again. Then came Amethyst and Drax, who tied him up and kicked him around a bit. Groot and Pearl gave him a really big beatdown that he tried to fight back from, but to no avail. Lapis and Rocket beat him next with a righteous combination of firepower and geysers.

"Seriously, stop this!" Titus cried feeling more pain. "Just try and make us big guy!" Rocket arrogantly responded shaking his tail at him. Peridot than tossed the upturned Milano in his face with her metal powers. Yondu came next making his arrow destroy his cybernetic eye. Finally there was Stevoter who mounted on Lion and charged toward him with laser sword and Walkman shield in hand.

Swinging the blade, they sliced off Titus' robot arm and he fell down into the ocean. "So how do you like it now?" they asked lifting up their mask, revealing a cocky grin on their face. "You may have beaten me now, but there's still the Chitauri to take care of." Titus stated. They all looked up at the vortex still spewing out aliens over the ocean. "Oh right, we still gotta take care of that." Amethyst said.

Stevoter suddenly defused back into Star-Lord, Steven and Connie, still reeling from what had just happened. When they all looked at each other, they turned into a big group hug laughing. "That was so cool!" Steven exclaimed. "Yeah, when we blocked that blast with the shield that was fused with your player and then there was the laser sword!" Connie responded. "I thought fusion was pretty cool, but I'd never thought I'd get involved in one!" Peter said. "Yes, it's good that we beat him but we still need to take care of those Chitauri." Garnet added.

"We're gonna need a cooking pot." Rocket declared. "That's right, I'm bringin' back the black hole bomb!" Nobody really liked the sound of that idea, especially Peter. "I'm not sure about that. The last time you built one, you nearly killed us all!" he shouted. "Listen guys, I kind of started this by taking all those Quartz gems and I'm gonna end it."

"I'll go look for that pot!" Amethyst said racing inside the beach house and came back out with the pot and some more bits and bobs. "Thanks Amethyst." the raccoon thanked her and began work on the black hole bomb. When he finished, he grimly turned to his friends. "Well gang, guess I must be off." he said.

"Groot, you're the best pal a guy like me could have. Quill, you may be annoying but you're still my bro. Lapis & Peridot, thanks for sympathizing with me. Steven, I'm still sorry for being such a jerk earlier. And to everyone else, stay gold."

"I am Groot?" Groot wondered starting to tear up. "I'm sorry buddy, but it's the only way." Rocket sighed hugging his big tree friend. Getting on a leftover Chitauri chariot, he flew away toward the vortex. "Good luck buddy." Star-Lord said with a few tears in his eyes as well.

* * *

Finding his way inside the vortex, Rocket saw the Chitauri command center hovering above it. Soaring towards it while shooting down more troops along the way, he stuck the black hole bomb on the top of the vessel and turned it on.

"Well, here goes." he said to himself getting back on the chariot and zooming away from it. He circled the command center shooting down any Chitauri that tried to attack him until the timer finally reached zero. The ship was already getting sucked in the black hole created by the bomb, and Rocket calmly accepted his demise until he was knocked off his chariot by a random Chitauri and sent flying into the ocean

Meanwhile back with the others, they had just heard the black hole go off and mourned the loss of the their friend, with Groot taking it the hardest as he sobbed in Garnet's arms. "He died like a true hero." Star-Lord said. "I'm really sorry about your loss." Steven replied. They all took a moment of silence to remember their fallen friend, but suddenly they heard a sound. Everybody looked around to learn where it was coming from until they turned their heads skyward to find a familiar furry figure falling towards them, screaming along the way. "Is that...Rocket?!"

Rocket continued screaming incredibly loudly until he fell headfirst into the sand. "Whoa, what just happened? Last thing I remember was..." he wondered before getting interrupted by Groot bawling his eyes out while giving him a big hug.

"I AM GROOT!" he sobbed in joy. "Yeah yeah, I'm still alive. Did you really think the most lovable member was going to be offed?" Rocket snarked before everyone else joined in on the hug. "Okay now you're all choking me!" he wheezed. "How did you manage to survive?!" Star-Lord cried as they all let go and let him breathe. "I don't know. I was just flying around shootin' down Chitauri after accepting the fact I was gonna die and then boom, here I am. Speaking of which..."

The command center continued falling apart with its remains getting sucked into the black hole created by Rocket's bomb, which caused all the Chitauri to suddenly fall down dead. Then the portal finally sealed itself shut and all was quiet. "Wow, we actually won!" Steven cheered. "Indeed you did." a soldier from earlier added. "Thank you all for your help today, we'll have Damage Control over here to clean up."

* * *

After a while, a construction crew headed by an old woman arrived at Beach City to help the citizens rebuild their home. "So you all fused to beat that tiger guy?" Greg asked while rebuilding the beach house with Star-Lord, Steven, Connie and Gamora. "Yeah, we even had got a cool name like Stevoter too!" Steven replied. "And Rocket nearly died saving us all!" Connie added.

Yondu walked over to Titus' unconscious body, still with his metal appendage de-attached from the rest of his body. Picking up the gemstone of Holly Blue Agate from the arm, he handed it to Amethyst to bubble it.

"I think she should be taken back to Homeworld so that Titus can get into some real trouble!" she suggested. "Quit reading my mind squirt!" the Ravager replied before kicking the space cop in the head. "Yo furball, wake up!" he shouted as Titus began to awaken. "W-what just...happened?" he wondered looking around. "We kicked your ass, and now you're comin' with me." Yondu answered with a cheeky grin.

"Okay, a little bit to the left, no your other left. A little bit more and there!" a construction worker gave orders to Lapis while she lifted a Leviathan out of the water. "Thank you for your help Miss. What was your name again?" he asked. "My name is Lapis Lazuli Mr. Ballinger." she introduced herself. "Thanks Lapis, but just call me Lenny."

"I've been searching for J'son for a long time, but thanks to you I can finally bring him in." a man in a blue suit and golden helmet said as Pearl and Drax brought the king before him. "You're very welcome Nova. Or should I call you Mr. Rider?" the white Gem asked. "Please, Nova will do just fine." Nova replied. "So what are you going to do to him?" Drax inquired. "Just going to take him back to Xandar so that he can be tried for his crimes."

Groot meanwhile was helping Peridot, Garnet and Rocket get the Milano back into shape. "For a moment there when I thought I was gonna die, my life flashed before my eyes and it wasn't pretty." Rocket explained as he re-calibrated the controls. "That must sound pretty terrible." Peridot snarked. "I am Groot." Groot added patting his head. "I get it already, you're glad that I'm still alive yadda yadda yadda." he groaned.

"Whether you died or not, that was very heroic of you." Garnet commended him. "Aw, thanks Garnet."

"Well, seems like we gotta go now guys." Star-Lord said turning to Steven when they all took a break. "It's been awesome being back on Earth and meeting you all, but we can't just guard one part of the galaxy." He got up to go back to the Milano when Steven and Greg stopped him.

"Wait, we still have one more thing for you." Greg said pulling out a few presents from behind him and handing each one to the heroes for hire. "Go on, open 'em!"

Rocket was the first to unwrap his, which was an attack drone like Peridot's. "Sweet, my own drone!" he exclaimed tossing it into the air.

"Is this one of your old swords?" Gamora said to Pearl after unwrapping hers, which was a cutlass. "Yes, since you're so well-versed in swordfighting I figured you might like this one." Pearl replied before she got hugged by the green woman. "Wait, are we seriously doing this right now?" she wondered. "Don't worry, I'm starting to feel uncomfortable here too." the swordswoman answered as Pearl returned the hug.

"What is this sweet-looking object?" Drax gasped at his present. "It's a cupcake, since you've mentioned cake a lot." Connie said. "FINALLY, CAKE!" the destroyer shouted gobbling it down to the last crumb. "I must have more! MORE!"

"I am Groot!" Groot said examining his. "It's a mini version of your meep-morp. Amethyst helped me out with this one." Lapis explained. "Yeah, it's basically from both of us." Amethyst added.

Finally there was Peter, who was gazing at his present. "Can I unwrap it now?" he asked Steven. "Sure, go for it!" the half-boy replied. Peter finally unwrapped it, revealing it to be a cassette tape labeled "Awesome Mix: Universe Edition". "I knew you would love this Peter." Steven said smiling. Star-Lord briefly glanced between the child and his new tape before hugging him. "Thanks kid, hope we can see each other again." he thanked him smiling.

"Yo, where's my present?!" Yondu demanded looking quite impatient. "Oh what the heck, bringing these two in is enough of a present." he said.

"Mr. Universe, I'd like to speak with you." an elderly woman flanked by the same old man from before said approaching Greg. "I am Anne Marie Hoag of Damage Control. Mayor Bill Dewey has told me that your son might have had something to do with these recent events." she explained. "Yeah, that son is me!" Steven gleefully said shaking Hoag's hand. "My name's Steven Universe madame, and these are the people who helped save Beach City!"

Hoag then looked at both the Crystal Gems and the Guardians, walking towards Garnet. "You must be the leader of this crystalline camaraderie." she said. "You can say that miss, but Steven's mother Rose Quartz was once our leader and soon Steven will be too." Garnet said.

"Good to know. I thank you for helping with reconstruction. My superior might want to get to know you better soon." the elder said before turning her attention to Star-Lord. "So are you like some kind of bandit?" she asked the space cowboy. "Well I was a thief before I met these crazy people that I call my friends." Peter replied showing her his fellow space-farers. Groot just waved politely at her.

"So you claim be a Crystal Gem like the others yet you don't have a star. What's up with that?" Yondu asked Peridot. "Us Peridots are quite hard to poof." she replied pointing to her triangular gemstone. "But what about Lapis, what's her deal?" he added up looking at the ocean Gem. "I'm not really a member, I'm just friends with Steven." Lapis responded. "Well good to know. Oh would you look at the time, I gotta go!" he said looking at his wrist where a watch would be. "Think you could give me a lift back to my ship at the barn?"

"Yondu's right, we should get going." Peter said about to board the Milano. "Goodbye everyone!" The rest of the Guardians followed suit following him onboard. The ship then lifted itself off the ground and took off as everyone said their goodbyes.

"I'm gonna miss him too." Steven said smiling.

* * *

The Milano was gliding through the sky as Rocket piloted it. "Okay gang, we should go into hyperspeed in a few minutes." he announced. "Better buckle up!" Everybody did as he told them to, except for Star-Lord who continued looking at the cassette tape he was given. "C'mon Quill, get into position!" Rocket ordered.

"In a bit, just gonna need to see if this works." Peter said popping the tape into his Walkman before sitting down and buckling up. It then started to play a new song.

" _If I could begin to be  
Half of what you think of me  
I could do about anything  
I could even learn how to love" _

Meanwhile back on Beach City, the Gems continued watching as their new friends left the Earth. "Hope we can see them again soon, Drax was an utter riot." Amethyst said. "You got that right Amethyst, now if you'll excuse us we gotta go back to the barn so that Yondu can leave." Peridot replied as she, Lapis, Yondu and Titus teleported away on the warp pad.

" _When I see the way you act  
Wondering when I'm coming back  
I could do about anything  
I could even learn how to love like you _

_Love like you"_

"Threat has been neutralized Director Fury, no need to call the Avengers. I repeat, no need to call the Avengers." Agent Lee spoke to Nick Fury on an earpiece. "Good to know Agent Lee, we'll be sending over a Quinjet to bring you back to New York." Fury replied ending the call. Agent Lee sighed, happy that he accomplished a job well done before he noticed a little boy standing behind him with a creepy stare. "You didn't see nothing true believer."

" _I always thought I might be bad  
Now I'm sure that it's true  
'cause I think you're so good  
And I'm nothing like you" _

"Thanks for the lift girls, farewell." Yondu thanked Lapis and Peridot as he shoved Titus onboard his ship. The two Gems waved goodbye as he took off. In his ship, Yondu tried to contact the Gem Homeworld looking back at Titus with a sneer.

"Welcome to the Diamond Line, what do you want?" Yellow Pearl said when she came into view. "My name is Yondu Udonta, and I have a little something for you." Yondu introduced himself pulling Titus next to him. "This guy kidnapped one of Blue Diamond's Gems and attempted to shatter the Gems you assigned some friends of mine to capture." he explained.

"Pearl, who is calling us right now?" a voice belonging to Yellow Diamond asked as she pulled up the communicator to her face. "Oh no..." Titus weeped, thinking about what fate would befell him.

" _Look at you go  
I just adore you  
I wish that I knew  
What makes you think I'm so special"_

"Finally, back in space." Rocket sighed, feeling utterly relaxed while they entered hyperspeed. "So how's your present Pete?" he asked his captain. "Beautiful." Peter replied. "So where do we go now?" he said to his teammates. "Who knows? You lead the way Star-Lord." Gamora answered. And thus brings an end to the tale of a meeting and friendship between two worlds.

" _If I could begin to do  
Something that does right by you  
I would do about anything  
I would even learn how to love _

_When I see the way you look  
Shaken by how long it took  
I could do about anything  
I could even learn how to love like you _

_Love like you  
Love me like you" _

* * *

Finally everyone, it's over. This chapter took 9,000 plus words and it may have dragged out a bit, but it's over. Thank you everyone so much for joining me on this journey and I hope we can do it all over again someday. But for now, here's some hints of what's to come.

* * *

"Lord Thanos, I wish to speak with you." Corvus Glaive said to his master.

"What is it that you want to confer with me about?" the Mad Titan wondered. "It's about Earth, we have received intel that your daughter was on that planet." the alien explained bringing up a hologram of recent events. Thanos carefully examined the happenings until he laid eyes upon a group of people with his daughter. "The Homeworld rebels are still alive?!" he exclaimed recognizing their star symbol.

"Very good, perhaps they could be the key to helping me find the Infinity Stones." Getting up from his throne, he brought forth a golden gauntlet to his hand with six empty spots. "My minions, we are headed for Earth."

* * *

Did you like what you saw? Yeah, I liked doing this too but the next one will blow you away.

* * *

We see a laboratory decorated with various suits with armor as a man with a welding mask over his face tinkered with some metal. "Mr. Stark, I have received a call from Nick Fury." a voice announced. "Excellent J.A.R.V.I.S., bring it up on screen." the man replied pulling up his mask to reveal a face with a beard as a screen showing Nick Fury appeared before him.

"Tony, I've tried to call you for the past few hours." he explained. "What for? And make it quick, I'm kinda busy here." Tony wondered. "An alien invasion took place in the Delmarva town of Beach City, which was put a stop to by the Guardians of the Galaxy."

"Wait, those guys?" Tony was perplexed at what he just said. "Shouldn't they be like guarding some other part of the galaxy or something?" he asked.

"True, but who was with them is what I wanted to speak with you about." Nick brought up another screen of the aforementioned group, consisting of a woman with a square afro, a short purple figure, a thin white lady with a pointy nose and a little boy with puffy hair. "They call themselves the Crystal Gems and I believe they might be useful to the Avengers at some point." Fury continued.

"Interesting." Tony said with a certain look on his face stroking his beard. "Jarvis, book a flight to Delmarva." he ordered the voice. "On the double Mr. Stark, what for?" Jarvis said.

"It's time I had a little talk with them."

* * *

The Crystal Gems will return

in

"Steven Universe: Secret Wars"

 **To Joan Lee, the wife of a legend**

 **February 5, 1922 - July 6, 2017**


End file.
